Disk drive, disk feeding device, and disk loading mechanism

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a disk drive with a compact size that makes it possible to effectively utilize space within a disk drive and permits a straightforward layout of members. 
     The disk drive comprises a disk holder  10  that has a plurality of holder plates  11  that individually hold disks D, a drive unit  62  that plays back disks D, disk selectors  41 A and  41 B that form a space above and below a desired disk D by raising and lowering the holder plates  11 , and a drive base  60  that moves the drive unit  62  into the space that is formed by raising and lowering the holder plates  11 . The opening amount of the disk holder  10  by the rise and fall of the holder plates  11  is fixed. The height of insertion of disk D into the disk holder  10  is on the upper side between the highest holder plate  11  and the lowest holder plate  11  when the disk holder  10  is open.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a disk drive that is constituted suchthat a desired disk is removed from a plurality of stacked disk holdingmembers and placed on a drive unit for disk playback and, moreparticularly, relates to improvements to a disk drive which makes itpossible, during disk playback, to play back a disk by forming a spaceby raising and lowering a plurality of disk holding members andinserting the drive unit into the space, and improvements to diskfeeding device and disk loading mechanism used therefor.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, disk drives of the type that involve mounting a magazinestoring disks in a drive and automatically playing back a disk that iswithdrawn from the magazine have become widespread. Such disk drivesexhibit superior operability on account of the fact that it is notnecessary to perform the operations of inserting and ejecting disks oneat a time each time a disk is played back.

However, because the magazine which is mounted in and detached from thedisk drive needs to be sufficiently strong to protect a plurality ofdisks that are protected by the magazine when withdrawn to the outside,the walls of the main body of the magazine are quite thick and, as aresult, the overall size of the magazine and disk drive in which themagazine is mounted increases. Further, guide grooves and rail portionsare provided on the inner faces of the magazine side walls in order toremove the tray or the like protecting the disk in the magazine. Whensuch grooves and rail portions are formed, the thickness of the magazineside walls increases further and the gap between adjacent disk holdersalso widens. Hence, the height dimension of the magazine increases andthe disk drive in which the magazine is mounted also increases in size.

In addition, in order to withdraw and play back the disk held in themagazine, an adequate space must be provided in the disk drive and thedisk drive increases in size. As in the case of an in-vehicle disk driveor the like in particular, the demand for miniaturization when thehousing must be 180×50 (mm), which is known as ‘DIN size’ or 180×100(mm), which is known as ‘double DIN size’, is high.

In order to deal with this demand, as a method of dividing the magazine,a disk drive that is able to perform playback without withdrawing thedisk from the magazine by inserting a drive unit for disk playback in aspace formed by dividing the magazine mounted in the disk drive has beendeveloped (Patent Documents 1 and 2). In this disk drive, because thespace for withdrawing and playing back the disk is not necessary,miniaturization of the disk drive overall can be achieved.

In addition, a disk drive in which, instead of using a detachable-typemagazine, disk holders capable of storing a plurality of disks in thedrive are integrated in a stacked state in the drive beforehand, and inwhich disks inserted via disk-slots are automatically stored in the diskholders and the stored disks can be automatically ejected has beenproposed. In this disk drive, because a thick magazine and an openingand mechanism and so forth for mounting/detaching the magazine are notrequired, miniaturization of the drive can be implemented. The inventiondisclosed in Patent Document 3 in particular provides a disk holder thatcan be vertically divided as in the case of the magazine of the divisionmethod above and makes it possible to play back a disk withoutwithdrawing same by inserting drive units in the divided disk holder,whereby further miniaturization is achieved.

Problem to be Solved

Further, in a conventional disk drive that employs such a division-typedisk magazine and disk holder, a mechanism for individually raising andlowering a disk holding member such as a tray or disk holder in the diskmagazine is required. As a mechanism for this purpose, a constitutionwith a structure that, by causing a plate having a slanting linear orstep-like cam to perform a sliding movement, allows a member that isengaged with the cam to rise or fall is generally adopted.

However, in this case, because a space is formed by retracting eitherone of the disk holding members above and below the desired disk, theopen width of the disk magazine or disk holder or the like increases ordecreases depending on the height of the selected disk. Therefore, auseless space is produced above and below the disk holder as a result ofthe division position of the disk magazine or disk holder.

Further, as per the disk drive mentioned in Patent Document 3, when thedisk slot is established in the middle in the height direction of thefront panel of the disk drive, the layout of the display portion andoperating portion and so forth is complex. In particular, in the case ofan in-vehicle disk drive, a larger display is required for a navigationsystem or DVD player or the like. However, when the disk slot is in themiddle of the front panel, it is difficult to install a large display.

Thereafter, as mentioned earlier, in a disk drive of a type that storesdisks in a disk holder, which is provided beforehand in the disk drive,a disk loading mechanism for inserting and ejecting disks individuallyis required. As such a disk loading mechanism, a loading roller of alength that is substantially the same as that of the disk slot and thedrive source of which is a motor is generally used. The disk can beinserted into and ejected from the disk holder as a result of theloading roller, which contacts the disk surface, turning in theinsertion direction (forward direction) or ejection direction (reversedirection).

Further, in order to rotate the loading roller, a drive portion such asa motor or gear mechanism must be provided at one of the two ends (leftor right end in a horizontal case) of the loading roller.

However, when the drive portion is provided at one end of the loadingroller in this manner, the loading roller and disk slot are provided inpositions approaching the left or right when viewed from the front sideof the disk drive. Thereupon, in order to store the disk, which has beenlinearly introduced from the loading roller, into the disk holder, thedisk holder must also be provided toward the same side as the loadingroller and the space within the drive-portion side of the loading rolleris no longer effectively used in the disk drive.

In order to counter this problem, the provision of a drive unit that isinserted in the divided disk holder within the drive portion may also beconsidered. However, when the space required for the drive portion anddrive unit is considered, there is a requirement to arrange the driveportion and drive unit while leaving the required gap in order to avoidinterference from and collisions with the moving drive unit and driveportion, which results in an overall size increase for the disk drive.

In addition, this disk floating mechanism is provided in a position at apredetermined gap from the disk holder so that the loading roller doesnot hit the disk during playback or a disk that is stored in the diskholder. Thus, a member or mechanism for introducing a disk that has beenfed by the loading roller 51 must be provided or a member or mechanismthat pushes out the disk toward the loading roller must be provided onthe side of the disk holder for storing disks. The provision of such amember or mechanism increases the space required for the disk holder andalso increases the size of the disk drive. Therefore, the advantage ofnot using a disk magazine is not necessarily sufficiently obtained.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a compact-size diskdrive, disk feeding device, and disk loading mechanism that make itpossible to effectively utilize space within a disk drive and permit astraightforward layout of members.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention possessesthe following technological characteristics in a disk drive comprising adisk holder that has a plurality of disk holding members thatindividually hold a plurality of disks, a drive unit that plays back adesired disk, and drive movement means for moving the drive unit into aspace that is formed by the rise and fall of the disk holding members,wherein the opening amount of the disk holder by the rise and fall ofthe disk holding member is fixed.

That is, the present invention is characterized in that the openingamount of the disk holder by the rise and fall of the disk holdingmember is fixed.

The present invention as described above makes it possible toeffectively use space within the drive without the required space aboveand below the disk holder being different depending on which disk isplayed back because the opening amount of the disk holder is fixed.

In a preferred embodiment, the height of disk insertion into the diskholder is on the upper side between the highest disk holding member andthe lowest disk holding member when the disk holder is open.

In such an aspect, the disk insertion height is at the top within afixed opening amount of the disk holder and, therefore, the disk slotprovided in the front panel of the disk drive can be provided at the topthereof. For this reason, a large space for providing the displayportion or operating portion can be taken in comparison with a casewhere the disk slot is provided at the height of the center of the frontpanel. On the other hand, because the opening amount of the disk holderis fixed, the required space does not increase in an upward direction.

In a preferred embodiment, a disk selector that holds a disk holdingmember holding a desired disk at the disk insertion height when a diskis inserted into the disk holder, and retracts the disk holding memberholding the desired disk below the disk during disk playback isprovided.

In such an aspect, the disk holding member that is held by the diskselector during disk insertion is retracted downward during diskplayback and therefore the disk insertion position can be at the top andan upward increase in required space can be suppressed.

In a preferred embodiment, the drive unit and the disk selector areprovided in a drive chassis unit; and the drive chassis unit is providedso as to be capable of rising and falling with respect to the diskholder.

In such an aspect, the drive unit and disk selector are able to rise orfall while retaining a fixed distance from each other as result of therise or fall of the drive chassis unit. Therefore, the distance betweenthe division position of the disk holder and the disk playback positionis always fixed and a stable operation is permitted.

In a preferred embodiment, the drive chassis unit is provided with diskinsertion/ejection means that inserts and ejects the disk into and fromthe disk holder.

In such an aspect, the drive unit, disk selector and diskinsertion/ejection means is able to rise and fall while retaining afixed distance from each other by the rise or fall of the drive chassisunit. Therefore, the distance between the disk insertion position,division position of the disk holder and disk playback position isalways fixed and a stable operation is permitted.

In a preferred embodiment, disk grasping means for grasping the desireddisk when the disk holding member is caused to rise and fall by the diskselector is provided.

In such an aspect, in a state where the disk itself is grasped by thedisk grasping means, the desired disk can be placed by completelyretracting the disk holding members above and below the desired disk bymeans of the disk selector and then moving the drive unit into thespace. Therefore, in order to transfer the disk from the disk holdingmembers to the drive unit, a complex operation is not required of aspecified disk holding member and the disk selector can be simplified.

A preferred embodiment is a disk feeding device comprising a diskstorage portion that stores disks and a disk insertion/ejection portionthat inserts and ejects disks to and from the disk storage portion,wherein the disk storage portion is provided such that the center of thedisk stored in the disk storage portion is in a position approachingeither side of the two edges of the disk when viewed from the front ofthe disk insertion/ejection portion with respect to the center of thedisk passing the disk insertion/ejection portion; and a disk guide thatguides the movement of the disk between the disk insertion/ejectionportion and the disk storage portion is provided.

In such an aspect, the disk can be reliably moved between the diskinsertion/ejection portion and disk storage portion by the disk guide,whereby an effective application of the required space by arranging thedisk insertion/ejection portion and disk storage portion withdisplacement is permitted.

In a preferred embodiment, the disk insertion/ejection portion comprisesa loading roller and a drive portion that causes the loading roller toturn; the drive portion is provided at either of the two ends of theloading roller; and the center of the disk in the disk storage portionapproaches the side where the drive portion is provided.

In such an aspect, because part of the disk storage portion is providedin the space within the drive portion, space can be effectivelyutilized.

In a preferred embodiment, the disk guide comprises an oblique face thatchanges the direction of movement of the disk by contacting the outeredge of the disk.

In such an aspect, because the movement of the disk can be guided by aplain and simple member, the disk drive does not increase in size.

A preferred embodiment is a disk drive comprising the disk feedingdevice, wherein the disk storage portion is a disk holder provided so asto be capable of storing a plurality of disks and of being divided, thedisk drive comprises a drive unit that is provided so as to be capableof moving between the divided disk holders and which plays back adesired disk, and the drive unit is provided on the opposite side fromthe side approached by the center of the disk in the disk holder, in thevicinity of the disk holder.

In such an aspect, because the drive unit is provided in a space that isproduced as a result of the disk holder being arranged to approach thedrive portion, space can be effectively utilized and overallminiaturization of the disk drive is possible. Further, the drive unitis provided on the opposite side from the drive portion and, therefore,interference and collisions between the drive unit and drive portion canbe prevented.

In a preferred embodiment, the drive unit comprises: a turntable onwhich a disk is mounted; and a disk clamping mechanism that sandwichesthe disk between the disk clamping mechanism and the turntable duringdisk playback and allows the disk to pass to and from the turntableduring disk insertion and ejection.

In such an aspect, by using a disk clamping mechanism that sandwichesthe disk between the disk clamping mechanism and a turntable duringplayback, resistance to vibration is possible and, because the disk canbe passed between the turntable and disk clamping mechanism during diskinsertion/ejection, the drive unit can be provided in a position closeto the disk insertion/ejection portion and disk holder, miniaturizationof the drive is possible.

In a preferred embodiment, a pair of disk selectors for dividing thedisk holder are provided on one pair of side portions of the disk holderthat are orthogonal to each other; and the drive unit and the diskinsertion/ejection portion are provided respectively on the other pairof side portions of the disk holder that are orthogonal to each other.

In such an aspect, the disk selector for which the required space isrelatively small, and the drive unit or disk insertion/ejection portionfor which the required space is relatively large are provided inopposing positions with the disk holder interposed therebetween, wherebyone of the depth direction and width direction of the disk drive doesnot increase and overall compactness can be established.

In a preferred embodiment, a disk loading mechanism comprising a diskinsertion/ejection portion that inserts and ejects a disk into and froma disk drive that is capable of storing disks thereinside, wherein thedisk insertion/ejection portion is provided so as to be capable ofmoving in the direction of contact with and separation from a disk inthe disk drive.

In such an aspect, the disk insertion/ejection portion moves in thedirection of contact with and separation from the disk and, therefore, amember or mechanism for pushing the disk in or out need not be providedon the side for storing the disk. Hence, a smaller footprint isimplemented and overall miniaturization of the disk drive is possible.

In a preferred embodiment, the drive portion that drives the diskinsertion/ejection portion is fixed to the disk drive; and the diskinsertion/ejection portion is provided so as to be capable of connectingto and disconnecting from the drive portion in accordance with themovement of the disk insertion/ejection portion.

In such an aspect, because the drive portion is fixed and only the diskinsertion portion moves, the moving parts are at the required minimum,the space secured for movement is reduced, and miniaturization of thedisk drive can be implemented.

In a preferred embodiment, the disk insertion/ejection portion is aloading roller.

In such an aspect, because the disk insertion/ejection portion is aloading roller, the contact length with respect to the disk surface islong. As a result, movement and alignment for contact with andseparation from the disk can be performed easily by means of a simpleoperation.

In a preferred embodiment, the loading roller is provided with a rollergear; the drive portion comprises a motor and a gear mechanism that isoperated by the motor; and the gear mechanism is provided so as to becapable of engaging with and disengaging from the roller gear inaccordance with the movement of the loading roller.

In such an aspect, the connection and disconnection of the diskinsertion/ejection portion and drive portion can be performed by meansof a simple method such as engagement and disengagement of a gearmechanism and roller gear, whereby simplification of the structure andthe securing of a reliable operation can be implemented.

A preferred embodiment is a disk drive comprising a disk holder thatstores disks thereinside and a drive unit for playing back a desireddisk, comprising the disk loading mechanism.

In such an aspect, the disk holder does not require a member ormechanism for pushing the disk in or out. Therefore, miniaturization ofthe disk holder and disk drive is possible.

In a preferred embodiment, the disk holder has a plurality of diskholding members that individually hold a plurality of disks, the diskdrive comprising: a disk selector that forms a space above and below adesired disk by causing the disk holding members to rise and fall; anddrive moving means that causes the drive unit to move into the spaceformed by the rise and fall of the disk holding members, diskinsertion/ejection portion moving means which, when a space is formedabove and below the desired disk by the disk selector, allows the diskinsertion/ejection portion to move in the direction of contact with thedesired disk and which, when the desired disk is played back by thedrive unit, allows the disk insertion/ejection portion to move in adirection away from the desired disk.

In such an aspect, when a space is formed above and below the desireddisk in order to insert the drive unit, the disk can be grasped by thedisk insertion/ejection portion, whereby retraction of the disk holdingmember in order to play back the desired disk can be performed smoothly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the diskdrive of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transparent planar view during disk loading of theembodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transparent planar view of a state where the disk is storedin the disk holder of the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the disk holder of theembodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a planar view of a holder plate and disk holding mechanism ofthe disk holder in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a planar view of the holder plate and disk holding mechanismof the lowest layer of the disk holder in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a planar view of the holder plate in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a rear view of the disk holder in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a right side view of the disk holder in FIG. 5;

FIG. 11 is a side view of a state where the disk holder is divided andthe disk stored in the holder plate on the lowest level is set on theturntable, in the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a side view of a state where the disk holder is divided andthe disk stored in the holder plate on the third level from the bottomis set on the turntable, in the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a side view of a state where the disk holder is divided andthe disk stored in the holder plate on the highest level is set on theturntable, in the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the opening amount of the diskholder in a case where the holder plate on the lowest level is at thereference height during disk loading;

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the opening amount the disk holderin a case where the holder plate on the highest level is at thereference height during disk loading;

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of the opening amount the disk holderwhen a height between the lowest level and the highest level is thereference height when the disk is inserted;

FIG. 17 is a planar view of a disk hold link of the disk holdingmechanism of the disk holder in FIG. 5;

FIG. 18 is a planar view a disk hold arm of the disk holding mechanismof the disk holder in FIG. 5;

FIG. 19 is a planar view of a state where a disk is held by the diskholding mechanism of the disk holder in FIG. 5;

FIG. 20 is a planar view of a state where the disk has been released bythe disk holding mechanism of the disk holder in FIG. 5;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a lower chassis unit of the disk holderin FIG. 1;

FIG. 22 is a planar view of the cam gear that is provided on the lowerchassis unit in FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a planar view of the cam gear when the disk selector is in aninitial position;

FIG. 24 is a planar view of the cam gear when the disk selector is in aholder open position (1) during disk loading;

FIG. 25 is a planar view of the cam gear when the disk selector is in aholder open position (2) during disk loading;

FIG. 26 is a planar view of the cam gear when the disk selector is inholder open position (1) during disk playback;

FIG. 27 is a planar view of the cam gear when the disk selector is inthe holder open position (2) during disk playback;

FIG. 28 is a front view (A) and planar view (B) of a disk select plate24A that drives a disk selector 41A;

FIG. 29 is planar view (A), front view (B) and right-side view (C) of adisk selector 24B that drives a disk selector 41B;

FIG. 30 is a planar view of a disk select plate 24C that drives the diskselect plates 24A and 24B;

FIG. 31 is a planar view (A) and front view (B) of a disk select plate24D that drives the disk select plate 24C;

FIG. 32 is a planar view of the cam gear when the disk stopper mechanismis in the disk release position;

FIG. 33 is a planar view of the cam gear when the disk stopper mechanismis in the disk hold position;

FIG. 34 is a planar view (A) and front view (B) of a right disk stopperlink;

FIG. 35 is a planar view (A) and front view (B) of a left disk stopperlink;

FIG. 36 is a planar view (A) of a right disk stopper and a planar view(B) of a left disk stopper;

FIG. 37 is a planar view of a disk stopper plate 25E that drives thedisk stopper;

FIG. 38 is a planar view (A) and front view (B) of a disk stopper plate25F that drives the disk stopper plate 25E;

FIG. 39 is a planar view of the cam gear when a loading block is in thedisk release position;

FIG. 40 is a planar view of the cam gear when the loading block is inthe disk hold position (1);

FIG. 41 is a planar view of the cam gear when the loading block is in adisk hold position (2);

FIG. 42 is a planar view (A) and right-side view (B) of a right loadingblock slide plate;

FIG. 43 is a planar view of the cam gear when the drive base drive plateis in an initial position;

FIG. 44 is an external bottom view of the lower chassis unit in FIG. 21;

FIG. 45 is a perspective view of an upper chassis unit of the embodimentin FIG. 1;

FIG. 46 is a front view of when the shutter of the upper chassis unit inFIG. 45 is closed;

FIG. 47 is a front view of when the shutter of the upper chassis unit inFIG. 45 is open;

FIG. 48 is a planar view of the upper chassis unit in FIG. 45;

FIG. 49 is a left side view of the upper chassis unit in FIG. 45;

FIG. 50 is a rear view of the upper chassis unit in FIG. 45;

FIG. 51 is a right side view of the upper chassis unit in FIG. 45;

FIG. 52 is a perspective view of a drive chassis unit of the embodimentin FIG. 1;

FIG. 53 is a planar view of a frame of the drive chassis unit in FIG.52;

FIG. 54 is a rear view of FIG. 53;

FIG. 55 is a left side view of FIG. 53;

FIG. 56 is an explanatory diagram (A) of the disk selector andprotrusion in the initial position and a transparent rear view (B) ofthe disk drive in the same state;

FIG. 57 is an explanatory diagram (A) of the disk selector andprotrusion in the holder open position (1) and a transparent rear view(B) of the disk drive in the same state;

FIG. 58 is an explanatory diagram (A) of the disk selector andprotrusion in the holder open position (2) and a transparent rear view(B) of the disk drive in the same state;

FIG. 59 is an explanatory diagram (A) of the disk selector andprotrusion in a holder open position (3) and a transparent rear view (B)of the disk drive in the same state;

FIG. 60 is a planar view of the insertion/ejection path of the disk ofthe embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 61 is a side view of the positional relationship between the driveunit and loading block during insertion/ejection of the disk of theembodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 62 is an explanatory view of the positional relationship betweenthe disk and the turntable, disk guide, and disk holder center at thestart of disk insertion;

FIG. 63 is an explanatory view of the positional relationship betweenthe disk and the turntable, disk guide, and disk holder center in thecourse of disk insertion;

FIG. 64 is an explanatory view of the positional relationship betweenthe disk and the turntable, disk guide, and disk holder center in thecourse of disk insertion;

FIG. 65 is an explanatory diagram of the positional relationship betweenthe disk and the turntable, disk guide and disk holder center when thedisk is stored in the disk holder;

FIG. 66 is a planar view (A), front view (B), and right side view (C) ofthe disk guide of the drive chassis unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 67 is a front view of the loading block in the drive chassis unitin FIG. 1;

FIG. 68 is a planar view of the loading block in FIG. 67;

FIG. 69 is a planar view of the upper loading plate in the loading blockin FIG. 67;

FIG. 70 is a planar view of the lower loading plate of the loading blockin FIG. 67;

FIG. 71 is a front view of the loading plate in FIG. 70;

FIG. 72 is a planar view of the movement of the loading roller of theloading block in FIG. 67;

FIG. 73 is a transparent side view of a state where the roller gear ofthe loading block in FIG. 67 and the loading gear mechanism areseparate;

FIG. 74 is a transparent side view of a state where the roller gear ofthe loading block in FIG. 67 and the loading gear mechanism are inengagement;

FIG. 75 is a perspective view of the drive unit of the drive chassisunit of FIG. 53;

FIG. 76 is a transparent planar view of the drive unit in FIG. 75;

FIG. 77 is a transparent planar view of the initial state of the drivebase of the drive chassis unit in FIG. 76;

FIG. 78 is a transparent left side view of the drive chassis unit inFIG. 76;

FIG. 79 is a rear view of the drive chassis unit in FIG. 76;

FIG. 80 is a planar view (A) and left-side view (B) of the drive shiftplate of the drive chassis unit in FIG. 76;

FIG. 81 is a planar view (A) and right-side view (B) of a frame of thedrive unit in FIG. 75;

FIG. 82 is a planar view (A) and right-side view (B) of the clamper armand clamper ring of the drive unit in FIG. 75;

FIG. 83 is a left-side view (A), planar view (B), and rear view (C) ofthe drive base in FIG. 77;

FIG. 84 is a left-side view (A) and planar view (B) of a slide lockplate that is provided on the drive base in FIG. 83;

FIG. 85 is a planar view of the turn lock plate in FIG. 83;

FIG. 86 is a planar view of a drive support plate in the drive chassisunit in FIG. 53;

FIG. 87 is a planar view of a state in which the drive unit is insertedof the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 88 is a planar view of a state where the drive base starts to turnof the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 89 is a planar view of a floating lock release start state of thedrive base of the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 90 is a planar view of a floating state of the drive base of theembodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 91 is a left side view of an initial state (A) of the drive unit,the floating lock release start state (B), and the floating state (C) ofthe embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 92 is a right side view of an initial state (A) of the drive unit,the floating lock release start state (B), and the floating state (C) ofthe embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 93 is a partial planar view of the drive shift plate and link shaftwhen the drive base of the drive base unit is turning;

FIG. 94 is a partial planar view of the drive shift plate and link shaftwhen the floating lock of the drive base unit is released;

FIG. 95 is an explanatory diagram of the flow of the operation duringdisk loading of the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 96 is an explanatory diagram of the flow of the operation duringdisk playback of the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 97 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between theturning position of the cam gear, the state of each part, and the openposition of the disk holder;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment (‘the present embodiment’ hereinbelow) of an in-vehicledisk drive to which the present invention is applied will be describedin concrete terms hereinbelow with reference to the drawings. Further,the drive moving means of the claims correspond with the drive base andthe mechanism for turning the drive base, the disk grasping meanscorresponds to the disk stopper mechanism, and the disk feed mechanismcorresponds to the loading block. Further, in the following drawings,the front side of the disk drive is at the front, the rear side is atthe rear, and from a front perspective side, the upper side is at thetop, the lower side is at the bottom, the left side is on the left andthe right side is on the right.

A. Overall Constitution

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the present embodiment is constituted by thefollowing constitutional parts. Further, FIG. 1 is an explodedperspective view of the overall constitution of the present embodiment,FIGS. 2 and 3 are transparent planar views, and FIG. 4 is a front view.Further, although some of the members are not illustrated in FIGS. 1 to4, the details of the members of the respective constitutional parts aredisclosed in each of the illustrations shown in brackets.

(1) A disk holder 10 (FIGS. 5 to 20) in which a plurality of holderplates 11 capable of housing disks D individually are stacked;

(2) A lower chassis unit 20 in which the disk holder 10 is mounted(FIGS. 21 to 44);

(3) An upper chassis unit 30 comprising a disk slot 31 (FIGS. 45 to 51);

(4) A drive chassis unit 40 comprising disk selectors 41A and 41B thatdivide the disk holder 10 (FIGS. 52 to 66);

(5) A loading block 50 comprising a loading roller 51 that inserts andejects the disk in and from the disk holder 10 (FIGS. 67 to 74);

(6) A drive base unit 60 provided such that same can be inserted betweendisk holders 10 and which comprises a drive unit 62 for disk playback(FIGS. 75 to 94).

In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and 11to 13, a disk D that is brought in by the loading roller 51 via the diskslot 31 can be stored above each holder plate 11. Further, during diskplayback, the height of the drive chassis unit 40 is matched with thedesired disk D among the disks D stored in the holder plates 11 and, asshown in FIG. 58, the holder plates 11 above and below this disk D canbe divided and retracted by the disk selectors 41A and 41B. As shown inFIGS. 12 and 87, the drive unit 62 is inserted in the space generated byretracting the holder plates 11 in this manner and the information ofdisk D is read by placing disk D in the drive unit 62.

B. Outline of the Constitution of Each Unit

51 An outline of the constitution of each part of the present embodimentwill now be described in simple terms.

1. Disk Holder (FIGS. 5 to 20)

Disk holder 10 is constituted such that same can be vertically divided(the gap between the respective holder plates 11 can be modified) in thedesired positions by providing six holder plates that divide the disksand one upper plate 12 in a stacked state so that these plates 11 and 12can go up and down. Further, each of the holder plates 11 is providedwith a disk holding mechanism that holds disks D one by one aboveindividual holder plates by grasping the edge of the center hole of(called the ‘disk inner edge’ hereinafter) of the disks D.

2. Lower Chassis Unit (FIGS. 21 to 44)

The lower chassis unit 20 is constituted to divide the disk holder 10,grasp/release the inner edge of the disk, grasp/release the outer edgeof the disk D, move the loading roller 51 forward or backward,open/close the disk slot 31, and turn the drive base unit 60 and soforth by turning a cam gear 21 that is provided on the inside bottomface of the lower chassis unit 20. The cam gear 21 is provided such thatsame is able to turn via the cam gear drive gear mechanism 22 a thedrive power source of which is a cam gear drive motor M1. Further, thelower chassis unit 20 is provided with a drive chassis elevator gearmechanism 22 b the drive source of which is a drive chassis elevatormotor M2.

3. Upper Chassis Unit (FIGS. 45 to 51)

The disk slot 31 of the upper chassis unit 30 is provided on thefront-side front plate 30 a. Further, a shutter 32 for opening andclosing the disk slot 31 is provided by a shutter opening/closing plate33 on the front plate 30 a. Further, the front plate 30 a of the upperchassis unit 30 and drive chassis elevator plates 34A and 34B that allowthe drive chassis unit 40 to rise and fall to the desired position areprovided on the rear outside face of the front plate 30 a (FIGS. 4 to44).

4. Drive Chassis Unit (FIGS. 52 to 66)

The drive chassis unit 40 is provided such that same is capable ofrising and falling within the drive in accordance with the slidingmovement of the drive chassis elevator plates 34A and 34B. The diskselector 41A that divides the holder plates 11 and raises or lowers theholder plates 11 is provided on the rear inside face of the drivechassis unit 40 such that the disk selector 41A can slide laterally.Further, a disk selector 41B that divides and raises and lowers theholder plates 11 is provided together with the disk selector 41A on theright inside face of the drive chassis unit 40 such that the diskselector 41B is capable of sliding forward and backward. In addition, aloading motor M3 for turning the loading roller 51 and a loading gearmechanism 44 of which the loading motor M3 is the drive power supply areprovided on the right front portion of the drive chassis unit 40.

5. Loading Block (FIGS. 67 to 74)

The loading block 50 is provided at the front of the drive chassis unit40 so as to be capable of sliding forward and backward and comprises theloading roller 51 that is disposed in parallel to the disk slot 31 asmeans for inserting and ejecting the disk D from the disk slot 31. Theloading roller 51 is constituted to turn in the disk insertion direction(forward direction) or the ejection direction (reverse direction) withthe loading motor M3 serving as the drive source as a result of a rollergear 51 a provided at the end of the loading roller 51 engaging on theaforementioned loading gear mechanism 44 when the loading block 50 movesbackward.

6. Drive Base Unit (FIGS. 75 to 94)

The drive base unit 60 comprises a drive base 61, which is a plate thatis inserted in the divided disk holder 10 and the drive unit 62 that isprovided on the drive base 61. The drive unit 62 comprises membersrequired for playback of the disk D such as a turntable 63 and a pickupunit 65 a. Further, the drive base 61 is provided with a floating lockmechanism that switches between a floating state in which the drive unit62 is elastically supported by only a damper 66 and a locked state ofbeing fixed to the top of the drive base unit 60. That is, the drivebase 61 is constituted such that, when the drive base 61 is inserted inthe divided disk holder 10, the drive unit 62 is in the floating stateand the desired disk is placed on the turntable 63 and played back bythe pickup unit 65 a.

C. Details of Constitution and Functions of Each Unit

In addition, the constitution and functions of each unit will bedescribed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 94.

1. Disk Holder

1-1. Holder Plate

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the holder plate 11 is a substantiallyfan-shaped plate the circular arc of which is formed to follow the outeredge of the disk and is formed a little shorter than a semi-circle. Theholder plate 11 is provided with a protuberance 14 a that engages withthe disk selectors 41A and 41B in positions corresponding with the rightside face and rear side face of the lower chassis unit 20. Further,guide holes 14 b are formed in the holder plate 11 and four guide shafts20 a (See FIG. 1) that stand upright in a vertical direction from theinside bottom of the lower chassis unit 20 are pushed through the guideholes 14 b. In addition, a recess portion 14 c for introducing aprotrusion 25Ba of a disk stopper 25B (described subsequently) is formedat the rear of the holder plate 11. Further, although omitted from theother drawings, as shown in FIG. 5, an upper plate 12 provided with aprotrusion 12 a, guide hole 12 b, and recess 12 c that correspond withthe protrusion 11 a, guide hole 14 b, and recess 14 c is provided on thetop of the highest holder plate 11.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, anchor protrusions 12 d and 14 d are providedon the upper face plate 12 and lowest holder plate 11 respectively and,as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the top and bottom ends of a spring 14 econstituting the extension coil spring in the vertical direction areattached to the anchor protrusions 12 d and 14 d. As a result, all theholder plates 11 are biased in a mutually adjoining direction (directionin which the disk holder 10 closes) by the spring 14 e. Further, asmentioned above, the disk holder 10 is constituted such that the holderplates 11 above and below the disk D are retracted during disk loadingand disk playback. However, as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the dimension ofthe opening amount A of the disk holder 10 is the same during diskloading and disk playback and, as shown in FIG. 16, the position of diskD during disk loading (position corresponding with the disk slot 31) isestablished to be higher than the position of the disk D during diskplayback by a dimension B.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, a substantially circular hole 11 a isformed in a position corresponding with the center hole of the disk D ineach of the holder plates 11. The hole 11 a is provided with threeabutting claws 11 b that abut against the disk inner edge. In addition,as shown in FIGS. 3, 2 and 60, the disk holder 10 mounted in the lowerchassis unit 20 is established such that the center of the hole 11 a isin a position that is displaced a little to the right from the center ofthe disk slot 31 when viewed in a planar direction.

1-2. Disk Holding Mechanism

The disk holding mechanism 15 is a mechanism for holding the inner edgeof the disk D together with the abutting claws 11 b. That is, as shownin FIGS. 17 and 18, the disk holding mechanism 15 is constituted by adisk hold arm 16 that is provided such that same is able to perform asliding movement in the radial direction of disk D and disk hold links17 and 18 that engage with and disengage from the inner edge of the diskD in accordance with the movement of the disk hold arm 16.

As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the disk hold arm 16 is provided with adepressed portion 16 a that is depressed by a convex portion 25Aa of thedisk stopper 25A (described subsequently) on the end on the diskoutside-edge side of the disk hold arm 16 and is biased toward the diskoutside-edge side by a torsion spring 16 c. Further, a pin 16 b isprovided on the end on the disk-center side of the disk hold arm 16.

As shown in FIG. 17, disk hold links 17 and 18 are each substantiallyL-shaped plates at whose one end catches 17 a and 18 a that engage withthe inner edge of the disk D are provided. As shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and19, the disk hold links 17 and 18 are constituted such that the ends onthe side opposite the catches 17 a and 18 a overlap to engage with thedisk D in the mutual reciprocity (opening) direction of the catches 17 aand 18 a and are capable of turning about a common axis 19 that isprovided at the edge of the hole 11 a in the holder plates 11.

Further, substantially “<” letter-shaped cam holes 17 b and 18 b areformed in the disk hold links 17 and 18 and the pin 16 b of the diskhold arm 16 is pushed through the cam holes 17 b and 18 b respectivelyto be capable of performing a sliding movement. As a result, as shown inFIG. 20, when the disk hold arm 16, the depressed portion 16 a of whichis pushed, makes a sliding movement toward the center of the disk D, thepin 16 b moves to follow the cam holes 17 b and 18 b. Therefore, thedisk hold links 17 and 18 are constituted to release the inner edge ofthe disk by turning in the direction in which the catches 17 a and 18 aare closed (approach one another).

2. Lower Chassis Unit

2-1. Cam Gear

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the circular cam gear 21 that is providedsuch that same is able to turn on the inside bottom face of the lowerchassis unit 20 has an arc-shaped gear groove 21 a formed on the outeredge of the circular cam gear 21. The cam gear drive gear mechanism 22 afor which the cam gear drive motor M1 acts as a drive source engages inthe gear groove 21 a. Further, in order to divide the disk holder 10 inthe desired position and form the space in which the drive base unit 60is inserted, the cam gear 21 is formed having a disk selector drivecontrol cam 21 b for controlling the disk selectors 41A and 41B, a driveunit drive control cam 21 c for turning the drive base unit 60 andinserting and withdrawing same in and from the insertion space, a diskstopper drive control cam 21 d for controlling the holding/release ofthe disk D, and a loading block drive control cam 21 e for moving theloading block 50 forward and backward.

Each of the cams provided on the cam gear 21 are concentric with the camgear 21 and constituted such that a plurality of circular arcs ofdifferent rotational diameter are made to communicate, such that theposition of the control target in which the pin is provided isdetermined by moving the pin inserted in each cam to any point. That is,as shown in FIGS. 23 to 27, the disk selector drive control cam 21 bcomprises a part for setting the disk selectors 41A and 41B in aninitial position (0), a part for setting the disk selectors 41A and 41Bin the holder open position (1) for retracting the holder plates 11above and below the desired holder plate 11, a part for setting the diskselectors 41A and 41B in the holder open position (2) for lowering thedesired holder plate 11 to retract same from the disk, and a part forsetting the disk selectors 41A and 41B in the holder open position (3)to further retract all the holder plates 11 vertically.

As shown in FIGS. 32 and 33, the disk stopper drive control cam 21 dcomprises a part for setting disk stoppers 25A and 25B (describedsubsequently) in a release position (1) for releasing the disk D, and apart for setting disk stoppers 25A and 25B in the hold position (2) forgrasping the disk D. As shown in FIGS. 39 to 41, the loading block drivecontrol cam 21 e comprises a part for setting the loading roller 51 inthe release position (0) for releasing the loading roller 51 from thedisk D, a part for setting the loading roller 51 in the hold position(1) that enables the disk D to be held by moving the loading roller 51backward, and a part for setting the loading roller 51 in the holdposition (2) that enables disk loading and disk unloading by moving theloading roller 51 further backward. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 43,the drive unit drive control cam 21 c comprises a part for holding thedrive base 61 in the initial position (1) and a part for setting thedrive base 61 in the turn position (2).

Each mechanism that is provided in the lower chassis unit 20 and whichis driven by the cam gear 21 as above will be described hereinbelow.

2.2 Disk Selector Drive Mechanism

A disk selector drive mechanism 24 for driving the disk selectors 41Aand 41B provided in the drive chassis unit 40 will be described first.That is, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 23, the disk selector drive mechanism24 comprises disk select plates 24A and 24B that directly contact anddrive the disk selectors 41A and 41B and disk select plates 24C and 24Dthat transmit the drive force from the cam gear 21 to the disk selectplates 24A and 24B.

As shown in FIGS. 28A and 28B, the disk select plate 24A is a platecomprising a horizontal face that follows the inside bottom of the lowerchassis unit 20 and a vertical face that follows the rear side, the diskselect plate 24A being provided so that same is able to perform asliding movement in a lateral direction. A recess 24Aa for a link with apin 41Ad that is provided on the disk selector 41A is formed on thevertical face of the disk select plate 24A and a recess 24Ab for a linkwith a pin 24Ca that is provided on the disk select plate 24C is formedon the horizontal face of the disk select plate 24A.

As shown in FIGS. 29A, 29B, and 29C, the disk select plate 24B is aplate having a horizontal face that follows the inside bottom of thelower chassis unit 20 and a vertical face that follows the right side ofthe lower chassis unit 20, and the disk select plate 24B is providedsuch that same is capable of performing a sliding movement in thefrontward/backward direction. A recess 24Ba for a link with a pin 41Bdthat is provided on the disk selector 41B is formed on the vertical faceof the disk select plate 24B and a recess 24Bb for a link with a pin24Cb that is provided on the disk select plate 24C is formed on thehorizontal face of the disk select plate 24B.

As shown in FIG. 30, the disk select plate 24C is a substantiallysemi-circular plate that is provided such that same can turn on theinside bottom of the lower chassis unit 20 about an axis that isprovided close to the axis of the cam gear 21. Further, as mentionedabove, the disk select plate 24C is provided such that same is capableof transmitting power to the disk selectors 41A and 41B via the pins24Ca and 24Cb. Further, a pin 24Cc that transmits a biasing force fromthe disk select plate 24D is also provided on the disk select plate 24C.

As shown in FIGS. 31A and 31B, the disk select plate 24D is acrank-shaped plate that is provided such that same is capable ofperforming a lateral sliding movement in the vicinity of the axis of thedisk select plate 24C on the inside bottom of the lower chassis unit 20.A recess 24Da for a link with the pin 24Cc of the disk select plate 24Cis provided on the disk select plate 24D. Further, a pin 24Db that isinserted in the disk selector drive control cam 21 b of the cam gear 21is provided at the end of the disk select plate 24D.

2-3. Disk Stopper Mechanism

A disk stopper mechanism 25 that is released during playback aftergrasping the disk D to be played back among the disks D stored in thedisk holder 10 between the loading rollers 51 and retracting the holderplate 11 will be described next. That is, as shown in FIG. 32, the diskstopper mechanism 25 comprises disk stoppers 25A and 25B that abutagainst the edge of the disk, disk stopper links 25C and 25D for movingthe disk stoppers 25A and 25B, a disk stopper plate 25E for driving thedisk stopper links 25C and 25D, and a disk stopper plate 25F fortransmitting the drive force from the cam gear 21 to the disk stopperplate 25E.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and 19 and 20, the disk stoppers 25A and 25Bare attached to vertical shafts 25Ca and 25Da that are provided on thedisk stopper links 25C and 25D. As shown in FIG. 36A, the disk stopper25A comprises the convex portion 25Aa that biases the depressed portion16 a of the disk hold arm 16 of the disk holding mechanism 15 inaccordance with the movement of the shaft 25Ca and a grasping portion25Ab that contacts and leaves the edge of the disk D. As shown in FIG.35B, the disk stopper 25B comprises a grasping portion 25Bb thatcontacts and leaves the disk D in accordance with the movement of theshaft 25Da.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 32, the disk stopper links 25C and 25D are eachprovided such that same are capable of turning about the guide shafts 20a at the back of the inside bottom of the lower chassis unit 20.Further, as shown in FIGS. 34 and 35, shafts 25Ca and 25Da to which thedisk stoppers 25A and 25B are attached are provided on the disk stopperlinks 25C and 25D. In addition, the disk stopper links 25C and 25D areprovided with pins 25Cb and 25Db for transmitting the biasing force ofthe disk stopper plate 25E.

As shown in FIGS. 32 and 44, the disk stopper plate 25E is provided suchthat same is capable of performing a sliding movement forward andbackward on the outside bottom of the lower chassis unit 20. As shown inFIG. 37, the disk stopper plate 25E is formed having substantiallyV-shaped cam holes 25Ea and 25Eb into which pins 25Cb and 25Db of thedisk stopper links 25C and 25D respectively are inserted. Further, thedisk stopper plate 25E is provided with a slanting cam hole 25Ec intowhich a pin 25Fa of the disk stopper plate 25F is inserted. As shown inFIG. 32, the disk stopper plate 25F is provided such that same iscapable of a lateral sliding movement on the inside bottom of the lowerchassis unit 20. As shown in FIG. 38, the pin 25Fa is provided on thedisk stopper plate 25F. Further, the disk stopper plate 25F is providedwith a pin 25Fb into which the disk stopper drive control cam 21 d ofthe cam gear 21 is inserted.

2-4. Right Loading Block Slide Plate

A right loading block slide plate 26 for moving the loading block 50forward and backward will be described next. That is, as shown in FIGS.21 and 39, the right loading block slide plate 26 is a plate comprisinga horizontal portion that follows the outside bottom of the lowerchassis unit 20 and a vertical portion that follows the right side, thehorizontal portion being provided such that same is capable of slidingforward and backward on the inside bottom of the lower chassis unit 20.As shown in FIG. 42, a hole 26 a that engages with a protruding portion52 at the right end of the loading block 50 (described subsequently) isprovided on the vertical portion of the right loading block slide plate26.

The hole 26 a moves the loading block 50 forward and backward inaccordance with the forward/backward movement of the right loading blockslide plate 26 but is formed in an oblong rectangular shape to allow theloading block 50 to rise and fall in accordance with the vertical actionof the drive chassis unit 40. Further, the right loading block slideplate 26 is provided with a pin 26 b that is inserted in the loadingblock drive control cam 21 e of the cam gear 21. In addition, the rightloading block slide plate 26 is formed having a slanting cam hole 26 cfor driving a shutter link plate 27.

2-5. Shutter Link Plate

Furthermore, the lower chassis unit 20 is provided with the shutter linkplate 27 for transmitting a drive force to the shutter opening/closingmechanism (described subsequently). As shown in FIGS. 21, 39, and 44,the shutter link plate 27 is a plate comprising a horizontal portionthat follows the outside bottom of the lower chassis unit 20 and avertical portion following the front face, the horizontal portion beingprovided such that same is capable of performing a lateral slidingmovement on the outside bottom of the lower chassis unit 20. Thevertical portion of the shutter link plate 27 is provided with a recess27 a for transmitting a drive force to the turning plate 34 of theshutter opening/closing mechanism. Further, the horizontal portion ofthe shutter link plate 27 is provided with a pin 27 b that is insertedin the cam hole 26 c of the loading block slide plate 26.

2-6. Drive Base Drive Plate

In addition, the lower chassis unit 20 is provided with a drive basedrive plate 28 for turning the drive base unit 60. That is, as shown inFIGS. 21, 43, and 44, the drive base drive plate 28 is a platecomprising a horizontal portion that follows the outside bottom of thelower chassis unit 20 and a vertical portion that follows the rear face,the horizontal portion being provided such that same is capable ofperforming a lateral sliding movement on the outside bottom of the lowerchassis unit 20. As shown in FIG. 79, the vertical portion of the drivebase drive plate 28 is formed having a hole 28 a for transmitting adrive force to the drive base unit 60. The hole 28 a is formed having anoblong rectangular shape to allow the drive base unit 60 to rise andfall in accordance with the vertical action of the drive chassis unit40. Further, the horizontal portion of the drive base drive plate 28 isprovided with a pin 28 b that is inserted in the drive unit drivecontrol cam 21 c of the cam gear 21.

3. Upper Chassis Unit

3-1. Disk Slot Opening/Closing Mechanism

As shown in FIGS. 45 to 47, the disk slot 31 of the front plate 30 a ofthe upper chassis unit 30 is formed such that the position in the heightdirection of the disk slot 31 is at the top of the disk drive, while theposition of the disk slot 31 in the width direction is formedsubstantially in the center of the disk drive. The shutter 32 that opensand closes the disk slot 31 is provided on the front plate 30 a suchthat the shutter 32 is capable of performing a vertical slidingmovement. Further, the shutter opening/closing plate 33 is provided onthe front plate 30 a such that the shutter opening/closing plate 33 iscapable of performing a sliding movement and a pin 32 a that is providedon the shutter 32 is inserted in a slanting cam hole 33 a provided inthe shutter opening/closing plate 33. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 46and 47, the slanting cam hole 33 a biases the pin 32 a upward ordownward in accordance with the lateral movement of the shutteropening/closing plate 33 and is therefore constituted such that the diskslot 31 opens and closes as a result of the vertical action of theshutter 32.

Further, the shutter opening/closing plate 33 is biased toward the rightby a spring 33 b such that, in an initial state, the shutter 32 is inthe closed position. Further, the front plate 30 a is provided with aturning plate 34 such that same is capable of turning. As shown in FIG.4, a pin 34 a that engages with the recess 27 a of the shutter linkplate 27 is provided at the lower end of the turning plate 34. Further,as will be mentioned subsequently, the constitution is such that theshutter opening/closing plate 33 and left loading block slide mechanism35 act in accordance with the turning of the turning plate 34.

3-2. Left Loading Block Slide Mechanism

As shown in FIGS. 45 to 49, the left loading block slide mechanism 35 isconstituted by a slide link 36, turning link 37, and left loading blockslide plate 38. The slide link 36 is provided such that same is capableof a lateral sliding movement on the front plate 30 a and the right endof the slide link 36 is linked to the upper end of the turning plate 34.Further, the slide link 36 is provided with a depressed portion 36 athat biases the right end of the shutter opening/closing plate 33 inaccordance with a sliding movement toward the left. The turning link 37is provided such that same is capable of turning in the front left-handcorner of the upper face of the upper chassis unit 30, and isconstituted such that one end of the turning link 37 is linked to theleft end of the slide link 36 such that the turning link 37 turns inaccordance with the sliding movement of the slide link 36.

The left loading block slide plate 38 is a plate comprising a horizontalportion that follows the upper face of the upper chassis unit 30 and avertical portion that follows the left side of the upper chassis unit30, the horizontal portion being provided such that same is capable of aforward and backward sliding movement on the upper face of the upperchassis unit 30. The constitution is such that the other end of theturning link 37 is linked to the horizontal portion of the left loadingblock slide plate 38 and therefore performs a sliding movement inaccordance with the turning of the turning link 37. As shown in FIG. 49,the vertical portion of the left loading block slide plate 38 isprovided with a groove 38 a that engages with a pin 53 on the left endof the loading block 50 (described subsequently). The groove 38 a isformed as an oblong such that the loading block 50 moves forward andbackward in accordance with the forward and backward action of the leftloading block slide plate 38 but such that the loading block 50 thatfollows the vertical action of the drive chassis unit 40 is allowed torise and fall.

3-3. Drive Chassis Elevator Plate

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 44, the drive chassis elevator plates 34A and34B are provided such that same are capable of a lateral slidingmovement on the front and rear faces of the upper chassis unit 30respectively. The pair of drive chassis elevator plates 34A and 34B arelinked such that same are capable of sliding in mutually opposingdirections by a link plate 20 b that is provided such that same iscapable of turning on the outside bottom face of the lower chassis unit20. Further, a step-shaped cam 34Aa (34B is not illustrated) is formedon the drive shaft elevator plates 34A and 34B and the step-shaped cam34Aa is constituted such that, by inserting a pin 40 a that is providedat the front and back of the drive chassis unit 40 (describedsubsequently), the drive chassis unit 40 rises and falls in accordancewith the sliding movement of the drive chassis elevator plates 34A and34B.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, a horizontal rack 34Ab is formed on thedrive chassis elevator plate 34A and the drive chassis elevator gearmechanism 22 b that is driven by the drive chassis elevator motor M2provided on the lower chassis unit 20 engages with the rack 34Ab.Accordingly, the constitution is such that, when the drive chassiselevator motor M2 operates, the drive chassis elevator plate 34Aperforms a sliding movement via the drive chassis elevator gearmechanism 22 b and, at the same time, as shown in FIG. 44, the drivechassis elevator plate 34B performs a sliding movement in the reversedirection via a link plate 20 b. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, arectangular-wave-shaped groove 34Ac is formed in the drive chassiselevator plate 34A and, as a result of a sensor sensing the groove 34Ac,the position of the drive chassis elevator plate 34A is detected and theheight of the drive chassis unit 40 can be controlled.

3-4. Disk Holder Division Guide

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 48, 50, and 51, the upper chassis unit 30is provided with disk holder division guides 39A and 39B. The diskholder division guide 39A comprises a horizontal portion that followsthe rear upper face of the upper chassis unit 30 and a vertical portionthat is parallel to the rear side, the horizontal portion being providedsuch that same is capable of performing a lateral sliding movement onthe upper face of the upper chassis unit 30. The vertical portion of thedisk holder division guide 39A is provided with a guide portion 39Aa. Asshown in FIG. 56, the guide portion 39Aa abuts against a protrusion 13of the holder plate 11 that is biased by the disk selector 41A so thatthe disk holder 10 is divided smoothly, from the side opposite the biasdirection. Further, the left end (right end when viewed from the rearside) of the disk holder division guide 39A is provided with an abutmentportion 39Ab against which the end of the disk selector 41A abuts. Inaddition, the disk holder division guide 39A is biased toward the right(in the same direction as the bias direction of the disk selector 41Awhen the disk is divided) by a spring 39Ac.

The disk holder division guide 39B comprises a horizontal portion thatfollows the upper right face of the upper chassis unit 30 and a verticalportion that is parallel to the right side, the horizontal portion beingattached such that same can slide forward and backward to the upper faceof the upper chassis unit 30. The vertical portion of the disk holderdivision guide 39B is provided with a guide portion 39Ba. The guideportion 39Ba abuts against the protrusion 13 of the holder plate 11biased by the disk selector 41B from the opposite side from the biasdirection. Further, the rear end (right end when viewed from the side)of the disk holder division guide 39B is provided with an abutmentportion 39Bb against which the end of the disk selector 41B abuts. Inaddition, the disk holder division guide 39B is forwardly biased (in thesame direction as the bias direction of the disk selector 41B duringdisk division) by a spring 39Bc.

4. Drive Chassis Unit

4-1. Disk Selector

As mentioned earlier, the drive chassis unit 40 is raised or lowered bythe drive chassis elevator plates 34A and 34B but plays the role ofaligning the disk selectors 41A and 41B in the desired division positionof the disk holder 10. As shown in FIG. 52, the disk selectors 41A and41B are provided such that same are capable of sliding to the rearinside face and right inside face of the drive chassis unit 40. As shownin FIGS. 56A and 56B, the tips of the cams formed on the disk selectors41A and 41B have a wedge shape and the cams comprise flat upper cams41Aa and 41Ba, lower cams 41Ab and 41Bb and middle cams 41Ac and 41Bcthat abut against the protuberance 14 a of the holder plate 11 inaccordance with the movement of the cams.

The upper cams 41Aa and 41Ba are cams that comprise a rising obliqueface and a horizontal face that is joined to the rising oblique face,and a further rising oblique face and a horizontal face that is joinedto the rising oblique face in order to bias upward the protuberance 14 aof the holder plate 11 above the holder plate 11 that stores the disk Dthat is played back. The lower cams 41Ab and 41Bb are cams that comprisea falling oblique face and a horizontal face that is joined to thefalling oblique face and a further falling oblique face and a horizontalface that is joined to the falling oblique face in order to biasdownward the protuberance 14 a of the holder plate 11 below the holderplate 11 storing the disk that is played back. The middle cams 41Ac and41Bc are cams provided between the upper cams 41Aa and 41Ba and thelower cams 41Ab and 41Bb that comprise a horizontal face and a fallingoblique face that is joined to the horizontal face so that theprotuberance 14 a of the holder plate 11 that stores the disk that isplayed back moves downward behind the holder plate 11 below theprotuberance 14 a and the middle cams 41Ac and 41Bc merge with the lowercams 41Ab and 41Bb.

4.2 Disk Guide

As shown in FIG. 60, a disk guide 42 is provided on the left within thedrive chassis unit 40 and is constituted such that the left edge of thedisk D abuts against the disk guide 42 when a disk is fed into the diskholder 10. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 61 to 66A to 66C, thedisk guide 42 is a substantially C-shaped member that allows one disk topass from a front perspective. An oblique face 42 a that slants up andto the right from a planar perspective is formed on the left inside faceof the disk guide 42. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 60 and 62 to 65,when a disk is fed in, a disk that is introduced in a direction that isorthogonal to the loading roller 51 from the disk slot 31 changes courseas a result of the left edge of the disk abutting against the obliqueface 42 a and is guided obliquely upward and to the right from a planarperspective. Further, when the disk is fed out, the disk, which isejected obliquely downward and to the left from a planar perspective,changes course in a direction orthogonal to the loading roller 51 as aresult of the left edge of the disk abutting against the oblique face 42a and is ejected from the disk slot 31. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 60and 62, even when the center C1 of the disk holder 10 is displaced tothe right from the center hole of the disk D in the disk slot 31 from aplanar perspective, the disk D is correctly fed into the disk holder 10and fed out therefrom as shown in FIGS. 60 and 63 to 65.

5. Loading Block

As shown in FIGS. 67 to 71, the loading block 50 comprising the loadingroller 51 is a rectangular frame rendered by integrating the upper andlower loading plates 50 a and 50 b and the protruding portion 52provided at the right end of the rectangular frame is slidably insertedin a forward/backward slit 40 b that is formed in the right side of thedrive chassis unit 40 as shown in FIG. 52. Further, the pin 53 providedon the left end of the loading block 50 is slidably inserted in aforward/backward slit 40 c that is formed on the left side of the drivechassis unit 40 as shown in FIG. 55.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 39 to 42, the protruding portion 52 engageswith the hole 26 a of the right loading block slide plate 26 and, asshown in FIG. 49, the pin 53 engages in the groove 38 a of the leftloading block slide plate 38. As a result, the constitution is such thatthe loading block 50 slides forward and backward in accordance with themovement of the left and right loading block slide plates 26 and 28.

In addition, when the loading block 50 moves backward, a roller gear 51a engages with a gear 44 a of the loading gear mechanism 44 as shown inFIGS. 73 and 74. However, here, in order to mesh the roller gear 51 aand gear 44 a together while keeping a backlash, the right end of theloading roller 51 a is provided with a roller sleeve 51 b that isconcentric with the roller gear 51 a and the loading gear mechanism 44is provided with a stopper plate 44 b that is concentric with the gear44 a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 61, the lower face of the upper loading block50 of the loading plate 50 a is a roller guide that sandwiches disk Dbetween itself and the loading roller 51. In addition, as shown in FIGS.68 and 69, the loading block 50 is provided with a bias guide 55 thatbiases disk D leftward by abutting against the edge of the disk whendisk D is ejected from the disk holder 10. The biasing guide 55 isprovided such that same is able to turn in a horizontal direction and isbiased by a spring (not shown) in a counterclockwise direction in thedrawings.

6. Drive Base Unit

6-1. Drive Base

As shown in FIG. 52, the drive base 61 is provided on the left side inthe drive chassis unit 40. The front end of the drive base 61 thusprovided is provided below the left end of the loading roller 51 from aplanar perspective. Further, as shown in FIGS. 77 and 83A to 83C andFIGS. 87 to 90, the drive base 61 is provided such that same is capableof turning about an axis 40 d that is attached in the vicinity of therear left corner of the drive chassis unit 40. This turning of the drivebase 61 is performed via a drive shift plate 68 that is driven by thedrive base drive plate 28.

As shown in FIGS. 80A and 80B, the drive shift plate 68 is a platecomprising a horizontal portion that follows the outside bottom of thedrive chassis unit 40 and a vertical portion that follows the rear faceof the drive chassis unit 40. As shown in FIGS. 77 to 79, the horizontalportion is provided such that same is capable of sliding laterally onthe outside bottom of the drive chassis unit 40. As shown in FIG. 79,the vertical portion of the drive shift plate 68 is provided with a pin68 a that moves the drive shift plate 68 together with the drive basedrive plate 28 by engaging with the hole 28 a of the drive base driveplate 28.

In addition, a forward/backward cam hole 68 b is formed in thehorizontal portion of the drive shift plate 68. Further, theconstitution is such that a linear cam hole 61 a is formed in the drivebase 61 in the length direction thereof as shown in FIG. 83A and, as aresult of inserting a link shaft 67 a (described subsequently) in thecam hole 68 b of the drive shift plate 68 and in a cam hole 61 a of thedrive base 61, the link shaft 67 a is biased in the direction in whichthe drive base 61 is turned in accordance with the movement of the driveshift plate 68.

Furthermore, the drive chassis unit 40 is provided with a drive supportplate 72 that guides the insertion of the drive base 61 such that sameis capable of turning, as shown in FIGS. 77 and 88. The constitution issuch that the drive support plate 72 is formed having a substantiallyarc-shaped guide hole 72 a as shown in FIGS. 86A and 86B and the turningend of the drive base 61 is determined by the end of the guide hole 72 aas a result of a guide pin 61 b that is provided on the drive base 61being inserted in the guide hole 72 a.

6-2. Drive Unit

As shown in FIGS. 1, 81A and 81B, FIGS. 91A to 91C, and FIGS. 92A to92C, pins 62 a that are fixed to the drive unit 62 are elasticallysupported by the dampers 66 that are arranged at three points on thedrive base 61. As shown in FIGS. 75, 76, 91, and 92, the drive unit 62has members required to play back a disk provided thereon, such as theturntable 63 on which the disk is mounted, a spindle motor M5 forrotating the turntable, a clamper arm 64 b that comprises a clamper ring64 a for pushing the disk onto the turntable 63, the pickup unit 65 athat reads the disk signal, a thread motor M4 for moving the pickup unit65 a, and a gear mechanism 65 c and a feed screw 65 d and so forth.

As shown in FIG. 82, one end of the clamper ring 64 a is rotatablyattached on the same axis as the disk on the turntable 63 to the otherend of the clamper arm 64 b that is turnably provided on the drive unit62. The clamper arm 64 b is biased in the direction in which the clamperring 64 a is crimped onto the turntable 63 by means of a spring (notshown). Further, as shown in FIG. 92A, the clamper arm 64 b is providedwith a bias roller 64 c that retracts the clamper ring 64 a upwardagainst the spring by rotating the clamper arm 64 b by means of abutmentagainst a push-up portion 67 b (described subsequently) in an initialstate.

Further, as described above, the front end of the drive base 61 islocated at the bottom of the loading block 50 from a planar perspective.However, as shown in FIG. 61, the front end of the drive base 61 isestablished such that, when disk D is fed in or out, a part of theloading block 50 is accommodated between the upwardly retracted clamperring 64 a and turntable 63 and disk D passes through this part. Inaddition, as shown in FIG. 81, the drive unit 62 is provided with alocking pin 62 b and a lock groove 62 c for locking the drive unit 62 toa floating lock mechanism 67.

6-3. Floating Lock Mechanism

As shown in FIGS. 83 and 84, the floating lock mechanism 67 comprises aslide lock plate 69 that is slidably provided on the drive base 61 and aturn lock plate 70 and hook plate 71 that are provided such that sameare capable of turning on the drive base 61. As shown in FIGS. 91 and92, the slide lock plate 69 is provided with a lock groove 69 a andlocking pin 69 b that perform a floating lock and lock release throughengagement with the locking pin 62 b and lock groove 62 c of the driveunit 62 in accordance with the sliding movement. Further, a push-upportion 69 c for turning the clamper arm 64 to contact and move awayfrom the bias roller 64 c in accordance with the movement is formed onthe slide lock plate 69.

Further, the constitution is such that the link shaft 67 a is fixed tothe slide lock plate 69 and, as a result of biasing the link shaft 67 a,the slide lock plate 69 performs a sliding movement. Further, the linkshaft 67 a is also inserted in a cam hole 40 c that is formed in thedrive chassis unit 40. As shown in FIGS. 93 and 94, the cam hole 40 ccomprises an arc-shaped part that turns the drive base 61, drive unit62, and slide lock plate 69 together and a linear part that allows theslide lock plate 69 to slide on the drive base 61.

As shown in FIGS. 83 and 85, the turn lock plate 70 is provided with alock pin 70 a for performing a floating lock and lock release throughengagement in the lock groove 62 c of the drive unit 62 in accordancewith the turning of the turn lock plate 70. The turn lock plate 70 isconstituted to turn in accordance with the sliding movement of the slidelock plate 69 as a result of a pin 70 b that is fixed to the turn lockplate 70 being inserted in a cam hole 69 d that is providedsubstantially in the shape of a V in the slide lock plate 69.

As shown in FIG. 83, the hook plate 71 comprises a hook 71 a thatengages with the pin 62 a of the drive unit 62 during floating lock inaccordance with the turning of the hook plate 71 and which pushes thepin 62 a into the lock groove 69 a. The hook plate 71 is constituted toturn in accordance with the sliding movement of the slide lock plate 69as a result of a pin 71 b that is fixed to the hook plate 71 beinginserted in a cam hole 69 e that is provided in substantially a V shapein the slide lock plate 69.

7. Detection Means

The operation of each constituent member of the disk drive above isperformed by controlling the action of the cam gear drive motor M1,drive chassis elevator motor M2, loading motor M3, thread motor M4, andspindle motor M5 by a control circuit (not shown). Further, controlusing such a control circuit is performed on the basis of the detectionresult of detection means such as a switch and sensor and so forth thatare arranged on the respective parts in the drive. Such detection meanswill be described only for cases where same are required in thefollowing operations and the detection means is omitted from thedrawings.

D. Action

An outline of the operation will first be described for the operation ofthe present embodiment, whereupon the details of the disk loading (diskinsertion and storage) operation, disk playback operation, and diskunloading (disk ejection) operation will be sequentially provided.

1. Outline of Operation

1-1. Flow of Operation During Disk Loading

First, an outline of the flow of the operation during disk loading willbe described in accordance with FIG. 95. Further, in FIG. 95, M1 to M5are reference numerals denoting each of the above motors, where a circlesign is appended to a motor that is operated in correspondence with theoperation content. That is, the drive chassis unit 40 is moved to aposition where the holder plate 11 storing disk D can be selected byallowing the drive chassis elevator motor M2 to operate. Thereafter, thedisk selectors 41A and 41B are made to perform a sliding movement byallowing the cam gear drive motor M1 to operate and the disk holder 10is opened to allow the loading roller 51 to be accommodated on theselected holder plate 11 and disk D to be inserted (holder open position(1)). In addition, by allowing the drive chassis elevator motor M2 tooperate, the drive chassis unit 40 is raised to a position enabling diskloading, that is, to a position where the loading roller 51 matches thedisk slot 31.

In this state, the cam gear drive motor M1 is allowed to operatecontinuously to move the loading roller 51 (backward) toward the diskholder 10 so that disk D can be held. The disk slot 31 is then opened byopening the shutter 32, the catches 17 a and 17 b are closed by allowingthe disk hold links 17 and 18 of the disk holding mechanism 15 of theholder plate 11 holding disk D to turn, and the disk holder 10 is openedto prevent the center of the holder plate 11 from obstructing theinsertion path of the disk (holder open position (2)).

Thereafter, when disk insertion from the disk slot 31 is detected by asensor, the loading motor M3 operates and the loading roller 51 rotatesin the loading direction (forward direction) As a result, disk D is fedinto the disk holder 10. Further, when the fact that disk D has beencompletely inserted in the disk holder 10 is detected by the sensor, theloading motor M3 stops and the loading roller 51 stops rotating. Inaddition, as a result of the operation of the cam gear drive motor M1,the shutter 32 closes the disk slot 31 and disk D is held on the holderplate 11 by the loading roller 51 and disk stoppers 25A and 25B.

The drive chassis unit 40 is moved by allowing the drive chassiselevator motor M2 to operate such that the disk holder 10 that storesthe disk D in this manner is at the height of the initial position.Thereafter, by causing the cam gear drive motor M1 to operate in theopposite direction to that above, the disk stoppers 25A and 25B areremoved from the disk D and the loading roller 51 is removed from thedisk D by being moved toward the disk slot 31 (forward). Thereupon, thecatches 17 a and 17 b of the disk hold links 17 and 18 in the diskholding mechanism 15 of the holder plate 11 that holds disk D open andhold the inner edge of the disk.

Thereafter, the disk selectors 41A and 41B are made to perform a slidingmovement and move away from the disk holder 10 to put the disk holder 10in a state where each other's holder plates 11 are bonded by means ofthe biasing force of the spring 14 e. Further, the drive chassis unit 40is moved to the height of the initial position by allowing the drivechassis elevator motor M2 to operate. The process of the reverseoperation is followed when disk D is unloaded.

1-2. Flow of Operation During Disk Playback

An outline of the flow of the operation during disk playback will bedescribed next with reference to FIG. 96. That is, the drive chassisunit 40 is moved to a position that makes it possible to select theholder plate 11 holding the disk D that is played back by allowing thedrive chassis elevator motor M2 to operate.

Further, the disk selectors 41A and 41B are made to perform a slidingmovement by allowing the cam gear drive motor M1 to operate, and thedisk holder 10 is opened to make it possible to insert the loadingroller 51 above the selected holder plate 11 (holder open position (1)).In this state, the loading roller 51 is moved (backward) toward the diskholder 10 by allowing the cam gear drive motor M1 to operatecontinuously, and disk D is held as a result of the disk stoppers 25Aand 25B being moved in the direction of contact with disk D.

Catches 17 a and 17 b of disk hold links 17 and 18 in the disk holdingmechanism 15 of the holder plate 11 storing disk D close and release theinner edge of the disk D. Further, disk holder 10 is opened so that theholder plate 11 moves downward and away from disk D (holder openposition (2)) The disk holder 10 is opened further so that the drivebase 61 is accommodated below disk D that has been released by the diskholding mechanism 15 and held by the loading roller 51 and disk stoppers25A and 25B (holder open position (3)).

The drive unit 62 is inserted in a space that is produced by opening thedisk holder 10 by turning the drive base 61. Thereupon, the clamper ring64 a arrives in a position corresponding to a position above the centerhole of disk D and the turntable 63 arrives in a position correspondingto a position below the center hole of disk D. Thereafter, disk D ischucked on the turntable 63 as a result of closing the clamper ring 64 awhile raising the drive chassis unit 40.

Thereafter, the disk stoppers 25A and 25B move away from disk D and theloading roller 51 is also made to move (forward) toward the disk slot 31and away from disk D. Thereafter, as a result of the floating lockmechanism 67 releasing the floating lock, the drive unit 62 is placed ina floating state of being supported by only the damper 66. In the abovestate, the pickup unit 65 a is fed to the inner circumference byallowing the thread motor M4 to operate, the disk D is rotated byallowing the spindle motor M5 to operate, and the signal of disk D isread by the pickup unit 65 a that moves in the disk radial direction.Further, after disk playback has ended, disk D is stored within diskholder 10 by performing the reverse operation to that described above.

2. Details of the Operation of Each Part

The details of the operation of each part in the flow of the aboveoperation will now be described. In the following description, theoperation of each of the motors M1 to M5 and the corresponding gearmechanisms that are prerequisites for the operation for each part willbe omitted. Further, FIG. 97 shows the relationship between theoperating position of the cam gear 21 and the hold and release of disk Dby each part and the relationship with the open position of the diskholder 10.

2-1. During Disk Loading

First, the operation when the disk is stored in the disk holder 10 willbe described. Further, the following description illustrates an examplein which a disk is stored by the vacant holder plate 11 that is thirdfrom the bottom. That is, as shown in FIGS. 56A and 56B, when the thirdholder plate 11 is vacant, the drive chassis unit 40 is raised andlowered by moving the drive chassis elevator plates 34A and 34B so thatthe tips of the middle cams 41Ac and 41Bc of the disk selectors 41A and41B are at the height of the protuberance 14 a of the third vacantholder plate 11. Thereupon, the cam gear 21 is in an initial position asshown in FIG. 23.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 24, when the disk selectors 41A and 41B aremade to perform a sliding movement to the holder open position (1) viathe disk selector drive control cam 21 b and disk select plates 24D,24C, 24B, and 24A as a result of allowing the cam gear 21 to turn in theloading direction (counterclockwise direction in the drawings), as shownin FIGS. 57A and 57B, the protuberance 14 a of the third holder plate 11enters the middle cams 41Ac and 41Bc and the protuberance 14 a of thefourth holder plate 11 and higher holder plates 11 are pushed up by theupper cams 41Aa and 41Ba. The protuberance 14 a of the second holderplate 11 and lower holder plates 11 is pushed down by the lower cams41Ab and 41Bb. Therefore, a gap into which disk D and the loading block50 can be inserted is formed above and below the third holder plate 11.

In addition, the drive chassis unit 40 is moved by moving the drivechassis elevator plates 34A and 34B so that the gap above the thirdholder plate 11 and the position of the loading roller 51 match the diskslot 31. Further, when the cam gear 21 is moved further in the loadingdirection as shown in FIG. 25, the pin 26 b of the loading block drivecontrol cam 21 e enters the hold position (2) from the release position(0) and, therefore, the right loading block slide plate 26 movesbackward, as shown in FIG. 41. Meanwhile, because pin 27 b inserted inthe cam hole 26 c is biased to the right in accordance with the movementof the right loading block slide plate 26, the shutter link plate 27performs a rightward sliding movement. Thereupon, because a turningplate 34 of which pin 34 a is engaged in recess 27 a of the shutter linkplate 27 is turning, the slide link 36 is biased to the left andperforms a leftward sliding movement.

As shown in FIG. 47, the slide link 36 biases the shutteropening/closing plate 33 to the left and, therefore, because the shutteropening/closing plate 33 performs a sliding movement to the left, thepin 32 a inserted in the slanting cam hole 33 a is biased upward.Therefore, the shutter 32 on which the pin 32 a is provided rises andthe disk slot 31 opens. At the same time, the slide link 36 moves theturning link 37 by moving to the left and causes the left loading blockslide plate 38 linked to the turning link 37 to perform a backwardsliding movement. As mentioned above, when the right loading block slideplate 26 and left loading block slide plate 38 move backward, theprotruding portion 52 at the right end of the loading block 50 engageswith the hole 26 a in the right loading block slide plate 26 and the pin53 at the left end of the loading block 50 engages with groove 38 a inthe left loading block slide plate 38. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2and 72, the loading block 50 performs a backward sliding movement. As aresult, as shown in FIG. 74, the roller gear 51 a of the loading roller51 engages with the gear 44 a of the loading gear mechanism 44 to entera state where the roller gear 51 a can be turned by the loading motorM3.

On the other hand, as a result of allowing the cam gear 21 to turn inthe loading direction as mentioned earlier from the initial positionshown in FIG. 32, the pin 25Fb of the disk stopper plate 25F enters holdposition (2) from release position (1) of the disk stopper drive controlcam 21 d and, therefore, the disk stopper plate 25F performs a rightwardsliding movement. Thereupon, the cam hole 25Ec of the disk stopper plate25E is biased by the pin 25Fa of the disk stopper plate 25F and the diskstopper plate 25E performs a forward sliding movement. As a result, thecam holes 25Ea and 25Eb of the disk stopper plate 25E bias pins 25Cb and25Db of the disk stopper links 25C and 25D. Therefore, the disk stopperlink 25C turns counterclockwise and disk stopper link 25D turnsclockwise. The shafts 25Ca and 25Da move in a (forward) direction toapproach the edge of disk D.

As a result of such movement of the shafts 25Ca and 25Da, the diskstoppers 25A and 25B also move forward. As a result, the convex portion25Aa of the disk stopper 25A biases the depressed portion 16 a of thedisk hold arm 16 and, therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 20, disk holdlinks 17 and 18 turn and catches 17 a and 17 b close. Further, becausethe disk selectors 41A and 41B perform a sliding movement to the holderopen position (2) as shown in FIGS. 58A and 58B, in accordance withadditional turning of the cam gear 21 as shown in FIG. 25, theprotuberance 14 a of the third holder plate 11 falls as a result ofbeing biased downward by the middle cams 41Ac and 41Bc and the spacebelow disk D increases further.

Based on the above state, when the fact that disk D has been insertedfrom disk slot 31 is detected by the sensor, the loading roller 51rotates forward and disk D is drawn into the drive. In the process ofbeing drawn into in this manner, disk D passes between clamper ring 64 athat is retracted upward and the downward turntable 63, as shown in FIG.61. Further, while the right edge of disk D is biased by the bias guide55, the path of disk D is changed as a result of the left edge of disk Dabutting against the oblique face 42 a of the disk guide 42, as shown inFIGS. 60, 62 to 65 and is guided obliquely up and to the right from aplanar perspective. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, the rear edge ofdisk D is grasped by the grasping portions 25Ab and 25Ba of diskstoppers 25A and 25B and, when the fact that the disk is stored in thedisk holder 10 is detected by a sensor, the loading roller 51 stops.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 57, the cam gear 21 is turned in theopposite direction to that described above and, when disk selectors 41Aand 41B are made to perform a sliding movement to the holder openposition (1), the protuberance 14 a of the third holder plate 11 isbiased upward by the middle cams 41Ac and 41Bc. Therefore, the thirdholder plate 11 rises and the center thereof matches the center hole ofdisk D that is held by the disk stoppers 25A and 25B and loading roller51.

Furthermore, as a result of rotation of the cam gear 21, as shown inFIG. 39, the pin 26 b of the loading block drive control cam 21 e entersthe release position (0) from the hold position (2). Therefore, theright loading block slide plate 26 moves forward and, as a result of theslide link 36 operating in the opposite manner to that described above,the shutter 32 falls and the disk slot 31 closes.

Thereupon, the drive chassis unit 40 is moved by allowing the drivechassis elevator plates 34A and 34B to perform a sliding movement sothat the disk holder 10 is at the height of the initial position. At thesame time, the left loading block slide plate 38 performs a forwardsliding movement that is the opposite of that during loading inaccordance with the movement of the slide link 36. As mentioned above,because the right loading block slide plate 26 and left loading blockslide plate 38 perform a forward sliding movement, the loading block 50performs a forward sliding movement and moves away from disk D.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 32, pin 25Fb of the disk stopper plate 25Freturns to the release position (1) of the disk stopper drive controlcam 21 d. Therefore, the disk stopper link 25C turns clockwise and thedisk stopper link 25D turns counterclockwise via the disk stopper plates25E and 25F and the shafts 25Ca and 25Da move in a (backward) directionaway from the edge of disk D. As a result of the movement of shafts 25Caand 25Da, the disk stoppers 25A and 25B also move backward and thegrasping portions 25Ab and 25Ba release disk D. Further, the convexportion 25Aa of the disk stopper 25A releases the depressed portion 16 aof the disk hold arm 16 and, therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 19, thedisk hold links 17 and 18 turn, and catches 17 a and 17 b open andengage with the disk inner edge.

In a state where disk D is set on the holder plate 11, because the camgear 21 located in the position shown in FIG. 23 turns, when the diskselectors 41A and 41B perform a sliding movement to the initial movement(0) as shown in FIGS. 56A and 56B, the protuberance 14 a of the holderplate 11 is released from the disk selectors 41A and 41B and the holderplate 11 moves in the direction of approach as a result of the biasingforce of the spring 14 e and disk holder 10 closes. Further, as a resultof the drive chassis elevator plates 34A and 34B being made to perform asliding movement, the drive chassis unit 40 is made to move to theheight of the initial position.

2-2. During Disk Playback

Thereafter, the operation of each part during disk playback will bedescribed. Further, the following description illustrates an example inwhich disk D, which is held by the third holder plate 11 from thebottom, is played back. That is, as shown in FIGS. 56A and 56B, thedrive chassis unit 40 is moved by allowing the drive chassis elevatorplates 34A and 34B to move such that the tips of the middle cams 41Acand 41Bc of the disk selectors 41A and 41B are at a height matching theprotuberance 14 a of the third holder plate 11.

Further, when the disk selectors 41A and 41B are allowed to perform asliding movement to the holder open position (1) by causing the cam gear21 to move in the playback direction (clockwise direction in FIG. 26) asshown in FIG. 26, the protuberance 14 a of the third holder plate 11enters the middle cams 41Ac and 41Bc as shown in FIG. 57, and theprotuberance 14 a of the fourth holder plate 11 and higher holder plates11 is pushed upward by the upper cams 41Aa and 41Ba, while theprotuberance 14 a of the second holder plate 11 and lower holder plates11 is pushed downward by the lower cams 41Ab and 41Bb. Therefore, a gapthat allows the loading block 50 to be inserted is formed above andbelow disk D that is placed on the third holder plate 11.

In this state, when the cam gear 21 is allowed to turn further in theplayback direction, pin 26 b of the loading block drive control cam 21 eenters the hold position (1) from the release position (0) and thereforethe right loading block slide plate 26 moves backward, as shown in FIG.40. Meanwhile, because the pin 27 b inserted in the cam hole 26 c isbiased toward the right in accordance with the movement of the rightloading block slide plate 26, the shutter link plate 27 performs asliding movement to the right. Thereupon, as described above, theturning plate 34 turns and the slide link 36 performs a sliding movementto the left and, therefore, the left loading block slide plate 38performs a backward sliding movement via the turning link 37. Asmentioned earlier, when the right loading block slide plate 26 and leftloading block slide plate 38 move backward, the loading block 50performs a backward sliding movement such that the loading roller 51sandwiches disk D.

Thereupon, as shown in FIG. 33, pin 25Fb of the disk stopper plate 25Fenters the hold position (2) from the release position (1) of the diskstopper drive control cam 21 d. Therefore, the disk stopper links 25Cand 25D move (forward) in the direction in which the shafts 25Ca and25Da approach the edge of disk D via the disk stopper plates 25F and25E. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 20, as a result of the movement of theshafts 25Ca and 25Da, the disk stoppers 25A and 25B also move forwardand the edge of disk D is grasped by the grasping portions 25Ab and 25Baof the disk stoppers 25A and 25B. Further, the convex portion 25Aa ofthe disk stopper 25A biases the depressed portion 16 a of the disk holdarm 16 and, therefore, the disk hold links 17 and 18 turn and catches 17a and 17 b close to release the disk inner edge.

Thus, in a state where disk D is grasped by the disk stoppers 25A and25B and loading roller 51 and the disk inner edge is released, when thecam gear 21 turns further in the playback direction, as shown in FIG.58, disk selectors 41A and 41B perform a sliding movement to the holderopen position (3) in the process and the protuberance 14 a of the thirdholder plate 11 is biased downward by the middle cams 41Ac and 41Bc.Therefore, the third holder plate 11 falls and moves away from disk Dand the gap below disk D widens.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 27, when the rotation of the cam gear 21progresses, the disk selectors 41A and 41B perform a sliding movement tothe holder open position (3) and, as shown in FIG. 59, the protuberance14 a of the third holder plate 11 merges with the lower cams 41Ab and41Bb, the protuberance 14 a of the upper holder plates 11 moves to thehighest level of the upper cams 41Aa and 41Bb, and the protuberance 14 aof the third holder plate 11 and lower holder plates 11 moves to thelowest level of the lower cams 41Ab and 41Bb. As a result, the divisionof the disk holder 10 progresses further and a space permitting theintroduction of the drive base unit 60 is formed above and below thedisk D.

Furthermore, because the drive unit drive control cam 21 c shown in FIG.43 moves in accordance with the turning of the cam gear 21, the drivebase drive plate 28 performs a sliding movement to the right as a resultof pin 28 b inserted in the drive unit drive control cam 21 c enteringthe turning position. Thereupon, as shown in FIG. 79, the drive shiftplate 68 performs a rightward sliding movement via the pin 68 a that isengaged in the hole 28 a of the drive base drive plate 28. As a result,as shown in FIG. 88, the drive base 61 is biased via the link shaft 67 athat is inserted in the cam hole 68 b of the drive shift plate 68 andthe cam hole 61 a of the drive base 61 and starts to turn in thecounterclockwise direction in FIG. 88. Here, as shown in FIG. 93, thelink shaft 67 a moves the arc-shaped part of the cam hole 40 c of thedrive chassis unit 40.

When the drive base 61 turns thus, the guide hole 72 a is biased by theguide pin 61 b of the drive base 61 and, therefore, the drive supportplate 72 moves in the clockwise direction. Further, the drive base 61stops turning when the guide pin 61 b reaches the edge of the cam hole72 a. Here, as shown in FIG. 87, the turntable 63 of the drive unit 62is aligned below the center of disk D that is grasped by the diskstoppers 25A and 25B and loading roller 51 and the clamper ring 64 a isaligned above the center of disk D.

In addition, the drive shift plate 68 continuously performs a rightwardsliding movement while the drive chassis unit 40 is raised by the drivechassis elevator plates 34A and 34B, and, as shown in FIG. 94, the linkshaft 67 a of the slide lock plate 69 moves to enter the linear part ofthe cam hole 40 c of the drive chassis unit 40. Thereupon, as shown inFIG. 89 and FIGS. 92A to 92B, the slide lock plate 69 moves and thepush-up portion 67 b is removed from the bias roller 64 c. Hence, as aresult of the spring biasing force, the clamper arm 64 turns downwardand the clamper ring 64 a pushes the disk onto the turntable 63.

When the cam gear 21 turns in this manner, in a state where disk D ischucked on the turntable 63, pin 26 b of the loading block drive controlcam 21 e enters release position (0) from the hold position (1) shown inFIG. 39 and, therefore, the right loading block slide plate 26 movesforward. At the same time, as described above, the left loading blockslide plate 38 also performs a forward sliding movement and, therefore,the loading block 50 performs a forward sliding movement and disk D isreleased.

Meanwhile, as a result of the turning of the cam gear 21, the pin 25Fbof the disk stopper plate 25F enters release position (1) from holdposition (2) of the disk stopper drive control cam 21 d shown in FIG.33. Hence, the disk stopper link 25C turns in a clockwise direction anddisk stopper link 25D turns in a counterclockwise direction via the diskstopper plate 25F and disk stopper plate 25E and the shafts 25Ca and25Da move (backward) in a direction away from the edge of the disk. As aresult of the movement of the shafts 25Ca and 25Da, the disk stoppers25A and 25B also move backward and the grasping portions 25Ab and 25Bbrelease disk D.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 90, 91A to 91C and FIGS. 92A to 92C, thelock groove 69 a and locking pin 69 b move away from the locking pin 62b and lock groove 62 c of the drive unit 62 in accordance with themovement of the slide lock plate 69. Further, the turn lock plate 70 andhook plate 71 also turn and the locking pin 70 a and hook 71 a move awayfrom the lock groove 62 c and pin 62 a of the drive unit 62. As aresult, the drive unit 62 enters a floating state of being elasticallysupported by only the damper 66.

Thus, the disk is placed on the turntable 63 such that the circumferencethereof is released and the disk is in a floating state, whereupon thepickup unit 65 a is moved to the disk inner circumference to rotate theturntable 63. Further, the signal of disk D is read while the pickupunit 65 a is moved in the disk radial direction.

2-3. Upon Completion of Disk Playback

A description of the operation of each part when disk D is returned towithin the disk holder 10 upon completion of disk playback will beprovided next. Further, the following description illustrates an examplein which disk D is returned to the third holder plate 11 from thebottom.

That is, because the drive unit drive control cam 21 c moves when thecam gear 21 turns in the direction of the initial position shown in FIG.43 after disk playback, the pin 28 b that is inserted in the drive unitdrive control cam 21 c is biased and, as a result, the drive base driveplate 28 performs a leftward sliding movement. As a result, the driveshift plate 68 performs a leftward sliding movement via the pin 68 athat is in engagement with the hole 28 a of the drive base drive plate28.

Thereupon, as shown in FIG. 94, because the link shaft 67 a inserted inthe cam hole 68 b of the drive shift plate 68 is biased to the left, thelinear part of the cam hole 40 c of the drive chassis unit 40 moves tothe left. As a result of the movement of the link shaft 67 a, as shownin FIGS. 89, 91C to 91A, and FIGS. 92C to 92A, the slide lock plate 69to which the link shaft 67 a is fixed also performs a sliding movementon the drive base 61. Therefore, the lock groove 69 a and locking pin 69b engage with the locking pin 62 b and lock groove 62 c of the driveunit 62. Further, the turn lock plate 70 and hook plate 71 also turn inaccordance with the movement of the slide lock plate 69 and the lockingpin 70 a and hook 71 a engage with the lock groove 62 c and pin 62 a ofthe drive unit 62. As a result, the drive unit 62 enters a locked stateof being pushed onto and secured to the damper 66.

At the same time, as a result of the cam gear 21 turning to the initialposition, as shown in FIG. 40, the pin 26 b of the loading block drivecontrol cam 21 e enters the hold position (1) from release position (0)and, therefore, the right loading block slide plate 26 moves backward.Meanwhile, because the pin 27 b inserted in the cam hole 26 c is biasedrightward in accordance with the movement of the right loading blockslide plate 26, the shutter link plate 27 performs a rightward slidingmovement. Thereupon, as mentioned earlier, the turning plate 34 turnsand the slide link 36 performs a leftward sliding movement. Hence, theleft loading block slide plate 38 performs a backward sliding movementvia the turning link 37. As above, when the right loading block slideplate 26 and left loading block slide plate 38 move backward, theloading block 50 performs a backward sliding movement and the loadingroller 51 sandwiches disk D as mentioned earlier.

Further, as shown in FIG. 33, the pin 25Fb of the disk stopper plate 25Fenters the hold position (2) from the release position (1) of the diskstopper drive control cam 21 d. Therefore, the disk stopper links 25Cand 25D move (forward) in the direction in which the shafts 25Ca and25Da approach the edge of the disk via the disk stopper plates 25F and25E. As a result of the movement of the shafts 25Ca and 25Da, the diskstoppers 25A and 25B also move forward and the edge of disk D is graspedby the grasping portions 25Ab and 25Ba.

Further, the push-up portion 67 b abuts against the bias roller 64 c asshown in FIGS. 92C to 92A in accordance with the movement of the slidelock plate 69 and, therefore, the clamper arm 64 turns upward againstthe spring bias force and the clamper ring 64 a moves away from disk D.Thus, when the rotation of the cam gear 21 progresses in a state wheredisk D is grasped by the loading roller 51 and the disk stoppers 25A and25B and released from the clamper ring 64 a and turntable 63, the drivebase drive plate 28 performs a sliding movement further to the left.Thereupon, the drive shift plate 68 performs a leftward sliding movementvia the pin 68 a that is engaged with the hole 28 a of the drive basedrive plate 28.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 88, the drive base 61 is biased to theleft via the link shaft 67 a inserted in the cam hole 68 b of the driveshift plate 68 and the cam hole 61 a of the drive base 61 and turnsclockwise. Thereupon, as shown in FIG. 93, the link shaft 67 a moves thearc-shaped part of the cam hole 40 c of the drive chassis unit 40. Whenthe drive base 61 turns in this manner, the guide hole 72 a is biased bythe guide pin 61 b of the drive base 61 and, therefore, the drivesupport plate 72 turns counterclockwise. Further, as shown in FIG. 77,the drive base 61 stops turning in a state where the link shaft 67 a hasreached the edge of the cam hole 40 c and returned to the initialposition.

As shown in FIGS. 26 and 57, in accordance with the turning of the camgear 21, the disk selectors 41A and 41B perform a sliding movement tothe holder open position (1) and the protuberance 14 a of the thirdholder plate 11 is biased upward by the middle cams 41Ac and 41Bc.Therefore, the third holder plate 11 rises and the center thereofmatches the center hole of disk D that is held by the disk stoppers 25Aand 25B and the loading roller 51.

As a result of the cam gear 21 turning further, as shown in FIG. 32, thepin 25Fb of the disk stopper plate 25F returns to the release position(1) of the disk stopper drive control cam 21 d and, therefore, the diskstopper links 25C and 25D move (backward) in the direction in which theshafts 25Ca and 25Da move away from the edge of disk D via the diskstopper plates 25F and 25E. As a result of the movement of the shafts25Ca and 25Da, the disk stoppers 25A and 25B also move backward and thegrasping portions 25Ab and 25Ba release disk D. Further, the convexportion 25Aa of the disk stopper 25A releases the depressed portion 16 aof the disk hold arm 16. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 19, the diskhold links 17 and 18 turn and the catches 17 a and 17 b open and engagewith the inner edge of the disk.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 39, the pin 26 b of the loading blockdrive control cam 21 e enters the release position (0) from the holdposition (1) and the right loading block slide plate 26 therefore movesforward. At the same time, as mentioned earlier, the left loading blockslide plate 38 moves forward in accordance with the movement of theslide link 36. As a result, the loading block 50 performs a forwardsliding movement and releases disk D.

When disk selectors 41A and 41B perform a sliding movement to initialposition (0) as shown in FIGS. 23 and 56 in a state where the disk isplaced on holder plate 11 in this manner, the protuberance 14 a of theholder plate 11 is released by the disk selectors 41A and 41B and,therefore, as mentioned earlier, the disk holder 10 closes. Further, thedrive chassis unit 40 is allowed to move to the height of the initialposition by causing the drive chassis elevator plates 34A and 34B toperform a sliding movement.

2-4. When Disk is Unloaded

In addition, the operation of each part when disk D is ejected from thedrive will be described. Further, the following description illustratesan example where disk D is ejected from the holder plate 11 that isthird from the bottom. That is, when an instruction to eject disk D isinputted in a case where disk D is stored in the third holder plate 11,as shown in FIG. 23, the drive chassis unit 40 is raised and lowered byallowing the drive chassis elevator plates 34A and 34B to move such thatthe tip of the middle cams 41Ac and 41Bc of the disk selectors 41A and41B is at a height that matches the protuberance 14 a of the thirdholder plate 11. Here, as shown in FIG. 56, the cam gear 21 is in theinitial position.

Further, as shown in FIG. 57, by turning the cam gear 21 in the loadingdirection, when the disk selectors 41A and 41B are made to perform asliding movement to the hold open position (1) via the disk selectordrive control cam 21 b and the disk select plates 24D, 24C, 24B, and 24Aby allowing the cam gear 21 to move in the loading direction, as shownin FIG. 58, the protuberance 14 a of the third holder plate 11 entersthe middle cams 41Ac and 41B, the protuberance 14 a of the fourth holderplate 11 and higher holder plates 11 is pushed up by the upper cams 41Aaand 41Ba and the protuberance 14 a of the second holder plate 11 andlower holder plates 11 is pushed down by the lower cams 41Ab and 41Bb.Therefore, a gap permitting the insertion of the disk D and loadingblock 50 is formed above and below the third holder plate 11.

In addition, the drive chassis unit 40 is moved by moving the drivechassis elevator plates 34A and 34B so that the gap above the thirdholder plate 11 and the position of the loading roller 51 match the diskslot 31. Further, when the cam gear 21 is moved thus, the pin 26 b ofthe loading block drive control cam 21 e enters the hold position (2)from the release position (0) and, therefore, the right loading blockslide plate 26 moves backward, as shown in FIG. 41. Meanwhile, becausethe shutter link plate 27 performs a rightward sliding movement inaccordance with the movement of the right loading block slide plate 26,as mentioned earlier, the shutter opening/closing plate 33 moves to theleft via the turning plate 34 and slide link 36.

As a result of the movement of the shutter opening/closing plate 33, asshown in FIG. 47, the shutter 32 rises to open the disk slot 31. At thesame time, the slide link 36 causes the left loading block slide plate38 to perform a backward sliding movement via the turning link 37. Asmentioned earlier, as a result of the right loading block slide plate 26and left loading block slide plate 38 moving backward, the loading block50 performs a backward sliding movement and the loading roller 51sandwiches the disk. At the same time, the loading roller 51 enters astate in which same can be turned by the loading motor M3. Further, asshown in FIGS. 2 and 60, the end of the bias guide 55 abuts against theright edge of disk D.

Meanwhile, the pin 25Fb of the disk stopper plate 25F enters the holdposition (2) from the release position (1) of the disk stopper drivecontrol cam 21 d shown in FIG. 32. Therefore, disk stopper links 25C and25D move (forward) in the direction in which the shafts 25Ca and 25Daapproach the edge of disk D via the disk stopper plates 25F and 25E. Asa result of the movement of the shafts 25Ca and 25Da, as shown in FIGS.2 and 20, the disk stoppers 25A and 25B also move forward and the edgeof disk D is grasped by the grasping portions 25Ab and 25Ba of the diskstoppers 25A and 25B. Furthermore, the convex portion 25Aa of the diskstopper 25A biases the depressed portion 16 a of the disk hold arm 16and, therefore, the disk hold links 17 and 18 turn and catches 17 a and17 b close to release the inner edge of disk D.

In addition, because the disk selectors 41A and 41B perform a slidingmovement to the holder open position (2) in accordance with the turningof the cam gear 21 in the loading direction as shown in FIG. 25, theprotuberance 14 a of the third holder plate 11 falls as a result ofbeing biased downward by the middle cams 41Ac and 41Bc as shown in FIG.58, and the gap below the disk widens further.

As described earlier, when the loading roller 51 rotates in the reversedirection in a state where the disk has been released by the holderplate 11, the disk starts to move in the direction of ejection from thedisk holder 10. In this process, the disk is guided obliquely down andto the left from a planar perspective as shown in FIG. 60 while theright edge of disk D is biased by the bias guide 55. However, as aresult of the left edge of disk D abutting against the oblique face 42 aof the disk guide 42, the course of disk D is changed in a directionthat is orthogonal to the loading roller 51 and, as shown in FIG. 61,disk D passes between the clamper ring 64 a that is retracted upward andthe turntable 63 below the clamper ring 64 a. In addition, disk D isejected from the disk slot 31 that is open as a result of shutter 32being raised and disk D can be completely removed by withdrawing disk D,which is protruding from the drive, by hand.

E. Effect

According to the present embodiment hereinabove, as indicated by A inFIGS. 11 to 13, because the opening amount of the disk holder 10 due tothe rise or fall of the holder plate 11 is fixed, space within the diskdrive can be effectively used without the required space above and belowthe disk holder 10 being different depending on which disk D is playedback.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the height of insertion of disk D is atthe top within the fixed opening amount of the disk holder 10, wherebythe disk slot 31 can be provided at the top. As a result, a large spacein which the display portion and operating portion are provided can betaken in comparison to a case where the disk slot is provided in themiddle of the front panel. This is advantageous in the case of a diskdrive requiring the provision of a large display as in the case of anavigation system or DVD player. Meanwhile, because the opening amountof the disk holder is fixed, as shown in FIG. 14, the opening amount ofthe disk holder 10 during playback with respect to the opening amount ofthe disk holder 10 during disk insertion is large and, as shown in FIG.15, the opening amount of the disk holder 10 during disk insertion isnot large with respect to the opening amount of the disk holder 10during playback. Hence, there is no useless increase in the spacerequired.

Further, because the desired holder plate 11 is held by middle cams 41Acand 41Bc of disk selectors 41A and 41B during disk insertion and thedesired holder plate 11 is retracted downward by the lower cams 41Ab and41Bb during disk playback, the disk insertion position can be at the topand an upward increase in space can be prevented.

Further, when the drive chassis unit 40 is raised or lowered uponselection of the desired holder plate 11, the loading roller 51, diskselectors 41A and 41B and drive unit 62 provided in the drive chassisunit 40 rise or fall while retaining a fixed distance therebetween.Hence, the gap between the insertion position of disk D, the divisionposition of the disk holder 10, and the playback position of disk D isalways fixed. Therefore, a stable operation is permitted and reliabilityimproves.

In addition, in a state where disk D is grasped by the disk stoppermechanism 25, a desired disk D can be placed on the turntable 63 bycompletely retracting the holder plates 11 above and below the desireddisk D by means of the disk selectors 41A and 41B and then inserting thedrive unit 62 in the space. Therefore, in order to transfer disk D fromthe holder plate 11 to the drive unit 62, a complex operation is notrequired of a specified holder plate 11 and the disk selectors 41A and41B and the driving mechanism thereof can be simplified.

Further, the disk holder 10 is established such that the center of thehole 11 a is in a position that is shifted slightly to the right fromthe center of the disk slot 31 in a planar perspective. Thereupon, thecenter of disk D that is stored in the disk holder 10 is in a positionapproaching the right side with respect to the center of disk D thatpasses the loading roller 51 such that part of the disk holder 10 ishoused in the space within the loading motor M3 and loading gearmechanism 44. Therefore, space within the disk drive can be effectivelyutilized.

Thus, even when the disk holder 10 and loading roller 51 are arrangedwith displacement, because the movement of disk D is guided by the diskguide 42, disk D can be reliably fed into and out of the disk holder 10.In particular, because the disk guide 42 is a plain and simple memberthat comprises an oblique face 42 a against which the outer edge of diskD abuts, the disk drive does not increase in size.

Further, because the drive unit 62 is provided in a left space that isproduced by disposing the disk holder 10 toward the right, effectiveutilization of space is possible and overall miniaturization of the diskdrive is permitted. In particular, the drive unit 62 is provided on theopposite side from the loading motor M3 and loading gear mechanism 44,whereby interference and collisions between the drive unit 62 and theloading motor M3 and loading gear mechanism 44 can be prevented.

Moreover, during playback of disk D, disk D can be sandwiched by aclamping ring 64 a between the clamping ring 64 a and the turntable 63,which results in resistance to vibration. When disk D is fed, disk D canpass between the clamping ring 64 a and turntable 63, whereby the driveunit 62 can be provided in a position close to the loading block 50 anddisk holder 10 and overall miniaturization of the disk drive ispermitted.

Furthermore, because the disk selectors 41A and 41B for which therequired space is relatively small and the drive unit 62 and loadingblock 50 for which the required space is relatively large are providedin opposing positions with the disk holder 10 interposed therebetween,one of the depth direction and width direction of the disk drive doesnot increase and overall compactness can be established.

Further, disk D can be inserted in the disk holder 10 and can bewithdrawn from the disk holder 10 when the loading roller 51 itselfmoves in the direction of contact with and separation from disk D. As aresult, there is no need to provide a special member or mechanism inorder to insert disk D that has been fed from the loading roller 51 intoindividual holder plates 11 of the disk holder 10 and in order to pushdisk D out toward the loading roller 51. Therefore, the required spaceis restricted by miniaturizing the disk holder 10 and overallminiaturization of the disk drive can be achieved. Further, because theloading roller 51 is retracted from disk D during playback of disk D,collisions with disk D can be prevented by securing a swing-preventingstroke that allows a change of position in the event of vibration.

Furthermore, the loading motor M3 and loading gear mechanism 44 arefixed and only the loading roller 51 moves, whereby moving parts are atthe required minimum, the space secured for movement is reduced, andminiaturization of the disk drive can be implemented. Further, becausethe loading roller 51 is used, the contact length with respect to thesurface of disk D is long. As a result, when the loading roller 51 ismade to contact or move away from disk D in order to insert/eject diskD, the loading roller 51 may be made to simply perform aforward/backward sliding movement, for which high accuracy is notrequired. Furthermore, the connection and disconnection of the loadingmotor M3 and loading roller 51 can be performed by means of a simplemethod such as engagement and disengagement of the loading gearmechanism 44 and roller gear 51 a, whereby simplification of thestructure and the securing of a reliable operation can be implemented.

Furthermore, when a space is formed above and below the desired disk Din order to insert the drive unit 62, the desired disk D can be graspedby the loading roller 51, whereby a complex operation to crimp theholder plate 11 that holds the desired disk D onto the turntable 63 isnot required and the retraction of the holder plate 11 can be performedsmoothly.

F. Further Embodiments

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment above. Forexample, the mechanism for moving the disk selectors and drive unit isnot limited to that exemplified by the embodiment above, nor are thedisk holding member and disk grasping means limited to those appearingin the above embodiment. The disk insertion/ejection means is also notlimited to a loading roller.

Further, in the above embodiment, the upper and lower cams areconstituted by the edge of the disk selector and the middle cam isconstituted by a groove formed in the disk selector. However, the upperand lower cams can also be constituted by a cam groove or cam hole.Further, supposing that the upper cam, middle cam, and lower camconstitute one set of cams, in the above embodiment, two sets of camsare formed by one disk selector. However, the number is not limited totwo sets. Correspondingly, the number of protrusions of the respectiveholder plates can also be increased or decreased.

Further, the specific constitution of the disk holder, diskinsertion/ejection portion, drive unit, disk selectors, disk clampingmechanism, and the mechanism for driving the disk clamping mechanism isnot limited to that exemplified by the above embodiment. Further, aslong as the disk guide is capable of guiding the movement of the disk asdetailed above, the shape and number is not limited to that shown in theabove embodiment.

Further, in the above embodiment, the disk holder and the mechanism fordriving the loading roller are provided on the right-hand side from afront perspective and the drive unit is provided on the left-hand side.However, a constitution in which the disk holder and the mechanism fordriving the loading roller are provided on the left-hand side and thedrive unit is provided on the right-hand side is also possible.

In addition, the specific constitution of the drive portion for drivingthe disk insertion/ejection portion and the mechanism for driving in thedirection of contact with and separation from the disk is not limited tothat exemplified by the above embodiment.

Further, although the disk is sandwiched between the loading roller andloading plate in the above embodiment, the constitution may be such thatthe disk is sandwiched by a pair of loading rollers that are arrangedabove and below the disk. Further, any means other than the loadingroller may be used as long as such means is able to insert and eject adisk.

Moreover, the specific numeric values of each member as well as thedisposition gaps and operating distances and so forth are alsoarbitrary. Further, the present invention is applied to a disk drivethat handles CDs and DVDs and so forth but is not limited to such a diskdrive. The present invention is also widely applicable to plate-likerecording media. In addition, the present invention is suited to anin-vehicle disk drive but is not limited thereto, being applicable to avariety of disk drives such as stationary-type or portable-type diskdrives.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described hereinabove, the present invention makes it possible toprovide a compact-size disk drive, disk feeding device, and disk loadingmechanism that allow space within a disk drive to be effectivelyutilized and for which the layout of members is straightforward.

1.-19. (canceled)
 20. A disk loading mechanism comprising: a disk driveunit that is configured to store disks; a disk insertion/ejectionportion that inserts and ejects a disk into and from the disk drive,wherein the disk insertion/ejection portion is capable of moving in adirection of contact with and separation from a disk in the disk driveunit; and a drive portion that drives the disk insertion/ejectionportion is fixed to the disk drive, wherein the disk insertion/ejectionportion connects to and disconnects from the drive portion in accordancewith a movement of the disk insertion/ejection portion.
 21. The diskloading mechanism according to claim 20, wherein the diskinsertion/ejection portion comprises a loading roller; the loadingroller is provided with a roller gear; the drive portion comprises amotor and a gear mechanism that is operated by the motor; and the gearmechanism is configured to be capable of engaging with and disengagingfrom the roller gear in accordance with the movement of the loadingroller.
 22. A disk drive comprising: a disk holder that stores disksinside; a drive unit for playing back a desired disk, including the diskloading mechanism according to claim
 20. 23. The disk drive according toclaim 22, wherein the disk holder has a plurality of disk holdingmembers that individually hold a plurality of disks, the disk drivecomprising: a disk selector that forms a space above and below a desireddisk by causing the disk holding members to rise and fall; drive movingmeans that causes the drive unit to move into the space formed by therise and fall of the disk holding members; and disk insertion/ejectionportion moving means which, when a space is formed above and below thedesired disk by the disk selector, allows the disk insertion/ejectionportion to move in the direction of contact with the desired disk andwhich, when the desired disk is played back by the drive unit, allowsthe disk insertion/ejection portion to move in a direction away from thedesired disk.